


Rising from the Ashes

by LadyLanera



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Character Death Fix, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post - Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 112,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLanera/pseuds/LadyLanera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of the Final Battle, the inhabitants of Hogwarts try to heal and move on. Could it be that a social experiment holds the key to healing the scars left behind? (Edited and re-vamped from previous version)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of the characters are owned by J.K. Rowling. Professor Sheridan and a few other characters in here are mine, though.
> 
> A/N: Fair warning, I've changed some of the events from the books, mostly deaths. So, this story is clearly set in an alternate universe. Also, I've recently revised this story to make things a bit more linear and clear. Enjoy.

The sounds of pens scratching against paper filled the room as a class full of students obediently copied down the notes from the whiteboard. A woman in her mid-sixties stood at the front of the classroom, her voice echoing throughout the lecture hall as she addressed her students about their final project. At the sound of the bell ringing suddenly, the professor sighed.

"I guess that's all we'll get through today, class," she said with a forced laugh as she waved her hand to dismiss them. The class quickly started to disperse out of the room, save for a few. "Miss Sinistra, a word if you please." She gave a curt smile to the younger curly-haired woman and waited until only the younger woman remained. "I must say that your paper was, if anything, most intriguing. Your conclusions relied heavily on the theory, of course, with the most amazing insight, but you _were_ a bit lacking in the practical research unfortunately."

The younger woman sighed. "I know, Professor Sheridan. Honestly, I had toyed with the idea of actually setting up such an experiment and playing it out so to speak for my final project."

"Hmm." Professor Sheridan tapped her finger against her lips as she nodded, thinking on it for a moment. "Well, it could be interesting, I think. And it's certainly a rather inventive project. Definitely fresh. Not to mention ambitious, but then again I'd expect nothing less from a Snake." She smiled at the younger woman. "You could see firsthand how your coworkers would react to such a scenario. See actual student responses. And your school could benefit greatly from the knowledge you procured."

"Exactly. Only I'd need a willing adolescent couple, and honestly I'm not sure I could talk one of my students into it. That, and I'd clearly need an extension if I'm to pull it off."

"Well, too bad there's no such thing as magic, hmm, Aurora?" Professor Sheridan winked.

"Yeah. Too bad." Aurora replied with a smile, sharing the inside joke with the supposed Muggle.

"Well, all you would need to do then is get Albus on board and sign off. Though, I'd imagine that he'd enjoy the experience. He was quite the one for social experiments when I knew him." Professor Sheridan laughed softly, clearly reminiscing about some long ago event. "I'll give you until the end of your next school year to complete it. I look forward to your results, Miss Sinistra."

* * *

Two hours later, Aurora Sinistra walked into her rooms she shared with her husband of three years. She caught his look as he sat at the table reading the _Daily Prophet_ , sitting in the same position as he had before she left. She only laughed, quickly removing her outer robes and hanging them beside his.

"I take it by your good mood that class went well today?" he drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"Class went very well today. Thank you for asking," she said with a laugh.

"Oh?" He set the newspaper down, giving her his full attention.

"Professor Sheridan signed off on my experiment. So, if I can get Albus to do the same, then I'll be a step closer to completing my final project."

"Ah, yes, your final project," he replied dryly.

"What?"

"All I've heard these months is about your secretive project. Yet, I've heard no details, though."

"Curious, are we, love?" She kissed his cheek, laughing when he pulled her down into his lap.

"Intrigued is more like it," he corrected, holding her gently.

She rolled her warm brown eyes. "So, you _are_ curious then." She heard his scoff but ignored it, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "I'll tell you the moment Albus accepts it. Promise."

"And if he doesn't accept it?"

"Hush. He'll accept it." She sighed softly, still smiling as they enjoyed a silent moment.

"I don't enjoy you keeping things from me," he admitted quietly, knitting their fingers together.

"I know you don't, Severus. But you kept secrets from me for seven years."

"You'll never let me forget that, will you?" he murmured.

"Forget all the times you wouldn't let me in about the danger you faced?" she clarified. "No. Of course I won't. This secret is nothing like that, though. No one will die over it. I promise. It's more like a social experiment actually."

"I'll be glad when I get my wife back," he remarked softly. "When all I have to deal with is you spending all your time up there with your stars and me having to drag you home afterward."

"Awe. Did you miss me?" She glanced up at him, catching his soulful black eyes.

"Hardly."

"Well, I missed you," she said, turning her head and giving him a simple kiss to the cheek. She giggled when she heard his grumble. "What?"

"You've been gone all damn day, and all I get is a kiss on the damn cheek?"

"Not good enough for our dear Potions Master?" she teased.

"You're damn right that it's not good enough, witch," he growled, entirely frustrated with her. "I require a proper kiss from my wife since she abandons me every damn morning to run off to her stupid university class." He sounded like a sullen child, but he didn't give a damn currently.

"You require a proper kiss?" she repeated, snorting a moment later. "Since when did our marriage turn into you bossing me around?"

He frowned. "If that is the way you see me, then perhaps we should end this right now."

"Severus," she said quietly, slowly turning around. "Don't be like this."

"Don't be like _this_?" he repeated deadly soft. "Tell me, Aurora. Just how am I supposed to feel when my wife is off who-knows-where all morning with who-knows-whom? Am I supposed to be happy about that? That every morning my wife abandons me in favor of others?"

"I'm not abandoning you, Severus," she argued.

"Your class finished two hours ago, so unless you got lost returning from Oxford . . ."

"I was talking to Albus about my proposal."

He scoffed. "Your _proposal_. Of course."

"Severus," she warned. "You're acting like a jealous git right now."

"Oh, yes, and you're entirely innocent, aren't you? Tell me. Did Professor Sheridan enjoy his extra hours with you? Perhaps he informed you about an extra assignment he'd like from you? Perhaps one that requires you either on your knees in front of him or against a desk?" he hissed coldly.

"Severus!" It was his anger and jealousy speaking. That's all. "Professor Sheridan is a woman."

"Do not lie to me," he hissed, baring his teeth.

"I'm not, you jealous arse," she snapped back. "She's Professor Amanda Sheridan. She attended Hogwarts long ago before she started teaching at Oxford. Go ahead and ask Albus. He'll tell you."

He blinked. "Then, you're not having an affair?"

"Of course not!"

"Good," he replied flatly. All of the tension in his body vanished with her answer. Once more, he was calm. As if his outburst and anger had never happened.

"That's all you're going to say, 'Good?' Honestly." She ran a hand through her dark curls.

"What would you like me to say, Aurora?"

"Oh, I don't know. An apology maybe?

"I am not going to apologize for you spending all your time away from me lately." He made no reaction when she pulled herself out of his embrace suddenly.

"Would it be so hard for you to support me after all I've done for you?"

"I _do_ support you. However, I do not support you hiding things from me. You rarely give me any details about this Muggle class of yours. Who you're with, what you're doing. It's always your class either went well or didn't. That's all you give me. What else was I supposed to think?"

"I don't tell you about it because you don't care about any of this stuff."

"An assumption based on no facts," he replied flatly.

"So if I told you about my class, everything I learned, you'd listen to it willingly? You'd not be wishing you were off brewing or whatever instead?"

"Considering that I'm not allowed anywhere near a cauldron or fairly much of anything as I recover, I'm yours, Aurora. Entirely. I have no other matters to attend to anymore. Just stupid therapy."

Her face fell as it hit her like a punch to the gut. Circe! The Final Battle seemed like a lifetime ago. Like it had happened decades before. Not just three months time. Her eyes glanced at his neck where she knew underneath his collar the deep scars were, the remnants of Nagini's attack that nearly— She looked away. Here she was going on about her stupid class, forgetting about his therapy sessions.

"I'm sorry, Severus. I—"

"Glad one of us can forget it," he replied dryly, rubbing his left forearm.

"Severus—"

"It's fine."

"No it's not. I—"

"Aurora, _it's_ fine," he repeated with a familiar edge to his voice.

She sighed. It wasn't fine. How could she forget about that? At the start of the summer holidays, she had even toyed with the idea of putting off taking the class a year. He, however, practically forced her into going, telling her that there was nothing she could do for him as he recovered. That he understood and wanted her to take her class instead of fussing over him. That it would do them good.

Circe! She was an idiot. Severus nearly died. How could she forget that? She sighed, shaking her head. She paused when his hand tilted her head upwards so she'd look at him again.

"Aurora, stop worrying about me. I'm fine. I don't need yet another woman fussing over me. I'm doing everything Pomfrey's asked. I'm attending my sessions with her every day. I'm fine."

"I forgot about it." She caught his flinch instantly.

"Celes, please," he said, using his nickname for her. "Everything's fine." His eyes darted to the phoenix when it suddenly appeared in their rooms. He seemed relieved now with the respite.

She closed her eyes before walking to the phoenix. She gently grabbed the rolled up message and watched the bird vanish again. Returning to Severus, she unrolled it and read Albus's short response.

"Well? Did he accept it?" he asked, his hands folded atop of the counter.

"Yeah." She glanced at him, unsure of herself again. She couldn't get past how callous she was. Here she was, a stupid class keeping her from standing beside him as she had done throughout their life. She had abandoned him. There was no other way to state it.

"Congratulations," he stated with a forced smile. "I suppose you'll be busy with that now?"

Her heart ached at the underlying hurt that was in his voice. The hurt he hid that she could only hear because she knew him intimately. "Do it with me," she blurted out. "Do this with me. Please."

He watched her for a few moments silently. "All right," he finally said. "Tell me about it."

* * *

Silently, Aurora stood beside her husband as he sat on the cot in the hospital wing. All they needed was Pomfrey to okay their idea since Albus had seemed to know their plan already somehow. The matron waved her wand over Severus expertly.

"It's unorthodox. I'll give you that," Pomfrey remarked with a quiet sigh.

Aurora placed her hand on Severus's shoulder. She thought about asking her question, but she knew it'd only upset him if she did. He hated it when people acted as if he wasn't there.

"Will there be any issues if I do this, Madam?" he asked quietly.

"That depends solely on you, Severus," the matron replied. "You'll heal just the same physically. Mentally, well, that rests entirely on your shoulders. Though, from what you stated earlier about your outburst in your rooms, it sounds as if the spending time apart now is already setting you back in terms of healing."

Aurora glanced down at the floor. That was her fault. Not his. He had been doing so well before she went off to her stupid classes and left him. She wasn't going to jeopardize all the progress he made just for a stupid class. She'd take the incomplete. He was more important.

"We understand, Poppy," Aurora said with a faint smile. "Thank you."

"If you need me, I'll be in my office." Pomfrey then walked away, leaving them alone.

"What are you thinking?" he asked moments later, glancing up at his wife.

"I'm thinking I'll owl Professor Sheridan and inform her that I can't do it."

"Aurora."

"No. It's fine. Really. It is."

"What about your credit?"

"I'll take the incomplete." She shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"So, all your hard work you've done these past few months was for nothing? Because of me?"

"Of course not, Severus."

"Then, what is the issue?" He frowned. "It's not as if I'm teaching next term anyway. Not with my ongoing intensive therapy sessions. Which you heard Pomfrey. I could continue with them while participating in your research. I have the perfect excuse. You'd be on sabbatical. I'd be on continued medical leave."

"What if there's an issue?" She caught his hand clenching instantly.

"Then, we'll deal with it," he replied flatly.

"You've made so much progress lately. I don't want to ruin it."

"You won't. You heard her. There is a slight chance it could help me heal faster."

She sighed. "I should have never taken this class."

"I assure you that you fussing over me and caring for me as you would have done would not have healed me any faster. I needed this time alone. To sort out my priorities. I'm less confused now than I was after my attack. I _am_ healing. With Pomfrey's help while you go to your class."

"But earlier in our rooms—"

"Was not your fault. I took my frustration at a stressful day of therapy out on you. It was wrong of me to do so. My acting out about my situation will not help things."

"You sound like Pomfrey now."

"Well, considering it was she who said that to me earlier," he replied with a shrug. "We can do this, Aurora. In fact, the main point she tells me during our sessions is that I'm supposed to try to regain a sense of normalcy. A routine in other words. What is more of a routine than that?"

"What if—" At the feel of his finger against her lips, she stopped speaking instantly.

"Stop thinking negatively. It's not good for me." His lips quirked upwards as if he was holding back a smile. "I want to do this with you. It's unorthodox surely, but it'll get my mind on other things. If it becomes more difficult for me to function, however, I'll speak with Madam Pomfrey more regularly. We can do this, Aurora. There's no need for you to get an incomplete after all the work you've done so far for this class." His hand fell to his side, allowing her to speak.

"All right. I'll get Pomfrey." She gave him a soft kiss. "I love you."

"And I love you. Now, go. We have things to take care of before we do this."


	2. First Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will definitely be questions you'll have in mind, but I'm going to answer them as the story progresses. Promise. Enjoy. :D

The first day of September, King's Cross was bustling as always. Parents hustled their children through the busy railway station, heading to the secretive Platform 9 ¾. The focused families stayed close together, huddled like sardines as they passed through the barrier to get to the train.

With messy raven locks, a fifteen-year-old young man glanced about the crowded area, tugging on his shirt sleeves. His long fingers flicked back a stray strand that had fallen into his pale face, tickling his long nose. His sparkling eyes just made a person feel lost in the dark depths, safe and protected and entirely his alone. Curling his thin lips upwards, he forced a soft nervous laugh when a few older girls nearly walked into a wall as they walked past him staring. Considering how he had heard all day long from girls that he was downright gorgeous—an Adonis one stated in fact, he assumed that these girls thought the same.

He walked through the barrier, inhaling deeply when he saw the Hogwarts Express up ahead. Now, that was gorgeous, a sight fit for the gods themselves. He slowly walked towards it, dropping off his luggage near one of the train's workers before boarding. He brushed off two girls' attempts at flirting with him, wincing inwardly as he did. Finding a vacant seat, he sat down, glancing out the window as he waited. So far he was dealing well by himself.

" _Severus?"_ a female voice suddenly whispered in his mind.

" _No. I'm Toby, remember?"_ He smirked as he sent back his reply.

" _You arse."_ There was clear laughter in her voice. " _It's beautiful, isn't it?"_

" _Truly magical,"_ he replied mentally in agreement.

" _Where are you? You left me before I could see you this morning prior to the deaging potion."_

" _How are we supposed to have our_ _ **first**_ _meeting if we've already met each other?_ "

" _Hilarious, love."_

He could feel her amusement surround him as it passed through their link. He closed his eyes to have her strength fill him. He wasn't usually one to rely on their bond as a means to communicate, but it was calming for now, to feel her so close to him even if she wasn't really.

" _I'll meet you at—"_

Someone suddenly cleared their throat loudly, pulling him out of his thoughts abruptly. He glanced towards the door and noticed the person standing in the doorway with a Gryffindor jumper proudly displayed.

"Um, is anyone sitting there?"

He shook his head in reply, motioning for the older student to sit. His throat had closed up as a new wave of emotions flooded through him. This was going to be a very long train ride of pretending.

"Thanks," replied the eighteen-year-old seventh-year Gryffindor, sitting across from him.

Swallowing back his turbulent emotions, he asked the Gryffindor quietly, "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Are you Harry Potter?" Of course, Severus already knew the answer to this question.

The older student scoffed. "Yeah."

"Didn't you get offered to train as an Auror last year after . . .?" He swallowed again and drew in a sharp breath as he pushed back the memories that threatened to control him once more. "I thought I read that in the _Prophet_."

"They offered," Harry replied with a shrug. "I didn't accept it, though. Clearly."

"Oh."

"Even the Chosen One needs a good education," Harry joked before he glanced out the window.

"What about your friends? The stories the _Prophet_ told stated that you were inseparable."

"We are." Harry paused. "They're Head Boy and Girl this year, so they're just busy right now."

Severus nodded slowly. He could see the familiar torture in Harry's green eyes. Harry likely hadn't slept in months. Though, he himself hadn't either. They had both suffered greatly in the end.

" _Severus, are you all right? What's going on?"_ the soft voice of his wife whispered in his mind.

" _I'm fine, Aurora. Merely talking to Potter,"_ he silently replied through the bond. _"I'll meet you at Hogsmeade. Until then, we should keep this to a minimum."_ He felt her acceptance to his request instantly. So far everything was going according to plan. No need to mess with variables then.

"Are you new here? I mean, I haven't seen you around before," Harry asked.

"I just transferred from Durmstrang. Mother wanted me to get a," he forced himself to pause as if thinking. "Well, she wanted me to get a well-rounded education if you know what I mean."

"You'll certainly get that," Harry said with a ghost of a smile.

"I'm Toby Brooks." He held his hand out to the other young man nervously.

"It's nice to meet you, Toby." Harry shook his hand quickly before sitting back again. "So, is it just you and your mum?"

"Oh, no." He snorted. "No. Uh, my parents are still together. Mother hasn't managed to kill him yet," he said half-serious. He watched Harry chuckle. "My dad's a Muggle, so all this magic stuff makes his head spin."

Harry nodded slowly. "So, where are you from?"

"Western England. I'm sure you haven't heard of my little village."

"Try me. I was off everywhere last year looking for, uh, things."

"Cokeworth," he answered with a shrug.

"Snape?" Harry whispered, his mouth hanging open a bit as he stared at him.

"Who?" he replied, confused. The word came off his tongue expertly as if he truly didn't know.

"I thought." Harry sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind. I'm just probably tired." He laughed softly. "One of our professors, a man I owe so much to really—he's from Cokeworth originally. Severus Snape is his name. He lives or lived, not sure which, on Spinner's End."

"Oh." He shrugged. "Yeah. Never heard of him. Except what that cow Skeeter has said lately."

"Yeah. That cow indeed," Harry said darkly, frowning. He shook his head again. "I think I'm going to get some rest. Will you wake me when we cross the bridge?"

"Sure." He watched Harry lay across the seat. It wasn't long before the Gryffindor fell asleep, but he knew it wouldn't be a peaceful rest. Drawing his wand, he cast a simple Sleeping charm on the young man. "Good night, Mr. Potter." He looked out the window then, silently watching them pull away from the platform and head towards Hogwarts.

* * *

As the carriage slowly headed towards the massive stone castle, he sighed silently. He hadn't seen her anywhere when the train had arrived in Hogsmeade. He had waited as long as he could without drawing too much attention to himself. However, when Harry asked him if he was coming, he decided he had waited long enough for her. They'd meet at Hogwarts then.

"You can see them, too, can't you?" Harry asked quietly, motioning to the Thestrals pulling their carriage in front of them.

"Unfortunately," he replied.

"I saw them after my fourth year. Damn near scared me to death. I thought I was seeing things. They're gentle creatures, though. They just have a bad reputation since only people who have seen someone die can see them." Harry shrugged.

He nodded slowly, glancing away for a moment. He had seen the blasted things since his sixteenth birthday when he had killed a man in the Dark Lord's name. He wondered idly if she could see them, too. He had never thought to ask in all the years they had known each other.

"Most of us can see them now, though," Harry continued quietly. His dull green eyes darted up to the castle. "I'd imagine the ones who weren't here last year are the only ones who can't see them."

"We heard about it over in Durmstrang," he said softly, lying through his teeth.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. "I wished we had known some of the things before then. It would have saved so many."

"It's like my dad says, Harry. You can't save them all," he remarked, glancing at the Gryffindor.

"Your dad's a smart man."

He merely nodded, turning away from Harry to look up at the castle. He could see the deep scars left behind from the battle. There were parts of the castle that were just gone. The Astronomy tower was the most noticeable mark.

"It's come a long way from the last time I saw it," Harry softly said, following his gaze. "All of the professors supposedly took turns in repairing it with the house elves this summer."

He nodded again, recalling his contribution at the beginning of the summer. They had all suffered so greatly. Then again, war did that. It wasn't fair, and it definitely showed life's cruelties.

"See that little island over there in the lake? There's going to be a monument built there. To celebrate and remember everyone who died last May. I'm told it's going to be seen for miles."

He glanced at Harry, wondering how the young man knew that. The professors hadn't told anyone at the Ministry or the _Prophet_ about their plans. In fact, if he recalled right, Dumbledore would reveal it to the students tonight at the Sorting Ceremony.

"I only know because of Hagrid." Harry gave a soft laugh as he remembered the half-giant. "He let it slip in an owl to me over summer break. He usually lets things slip, but he means well."

He didn't know how to reply to that, so he only forced a faint smile and glanced back at the castle. Fifty dead. For all intents and purposes, he should have been the fifty-first. The Fates, however, had been kind to him. He scoffed at that thought. To him, it had been kind, but he hadn't escaped unharmed. The unsettling thoughts bubbled to the surface again, forcing him to close his eyes in order to regain his control. A scarred neck with partial muscle and nerve damage. A shattered mind riddled with hellish images that were seared in. A broken heart ripped apart by the devastating loss of a—

"Are you all right? You're looking a little pale there, Toby," Harry suddenly asked, frowning.

"Yes. I just." He paused. "I can't imagine what you went through." Oh, if only that were true.

"Hope that you never do," Harry replied quietly.

"How did you get the strength to come back? I couldn't imagine doing that."

"See, the way I figure it now, coming back is the right thing, Toby. It shows that we haven't forgotten, but that some of us can get some form of closure or something. Move on from this tragedy. I mean, I-I'd not be here today if it wasn't for . . . someone that I owe my life to a hundred times over."

"That Snape guy?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Professor Snape." His green eyes darted to the castle as if searching for someone in the distance. "Toby, if anyone ever tells you that there's no witch or wizard who was in Slytherin that wasn't evil or dark or whatever, don't listen to them. Professor Snape is contrary to that."

A part of him wanted to tell Harry right then to knock it off with the sentimental crap. He _had_ _been_ dark. He certainly _had_ _been_ evil. He had been a Death Eater for Merlin's sake. However, a larger part kept him quiet, understanding Harry's words and meaning quite clearly. In Harry's mind, Snape had redeemed himself in the end. Snape had made up for his terrible mistakes of his youth.

The carriage came to a halt a few moments later. He sighed before following Harry out of it. He watched the young man glance around the grounds again.

"Looking for someone?"

"No." Harry shook his head. His tone gave away his lie. He _had been_ looking for someone, but he clearly didn't want to say whom.

"So, where's this Great Hall anyway?" He noticed Harry's violent flinch instantly and winced inwardly. It had been insensitive to say in hindsight, considering that Harry's girlfriend Ginny Weasley had died there. Of course it wasn't as if he had been there with Harry and the others. No. Instead, he had been lying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, slowly dying himself as the venom coursed through his veins. The faint smell of blood enveloped him while various images of that moment flashed in his mind.

"It's just inside," Harry finally spoke. The pain was so clearly written on the young man's face. Before the Gryffindor moved away, Harry gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "It'll wash away. We just need a few more good rainstorms like the one we had last night."

His dark eyes darted to Harry in confusion, finally snapping out of it.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting.

"The blood," Harry replied quietly, motioning to the dark stains on the outside of the castle.

He felt a chill sweep down his body at the sight. There was still blood visible? He turned away a moment later, his stomach knotting horribly. Had they made any progress cleaning Hogwarts and getting it ready this summer? He thought they had, but clearly it wasn't the case.

Turning around, he glanced at the island Harry had pointed to earlier. He could just make out the sticks that mapped the area out. When the monument would finally be finished sometime later in the year, all fifty names of the dead would have been etched into the white marble obelisk's base with an eternal flame lit at the very top. He closed his eyes once more. Fifty lives taken because of a madman's quest at ruling the world. At conquering death. When would society learn?

As another carriage slowed to a stop in front of him, he frowned, unable to see the area now. He took a step to the side to turn and leave, but stopped when he heard a gasp followed by a garbled cry of surprise behind him. Quickly turning back to see what the matter was, he inhaled sharply at the sight of someone, a young witch he realized, falling face first out of the carriage towards him. He threw his hands up to slow her momentum, only to crash backwards into the mud with her on top of him a moment later. He groaned, grimacing at the sharp pain in his neck.

"Oh no! I'm—oh, dear," the young witch said with a trembling breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean—are you hurt? I—oh, dear. This is not a good impression. Not a good impression at all. I'm not—oh, look at me. Rambling already." She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry. Terribly so."

His eyes quickly trailed down the young witch's slender body, taking note of her features. She had tight dark curls with at least four inches of the ends colored blue. Her lips were shiny from lip gloss. Strawberry scented he noticed as he inhaled slowly. Her eyes were chocolaty brown. Or was it mocha? And she had a healthy glow to her skin, likely from a suntan he guessed. When she poked his chest a moment later, he frowned.

"Think you can let a girl up?" she asked, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "You are sort of holding me against you, you know."

His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. All he currently knew or thought was the fact that he had a beautiful witch lying on top of him with the most kissable lips.

"Hello? Are you paying attention to me?" she said, shaking her head. "Let me up, will you?"

It took another moment before her words, soft spoken but a hint of playfulness, were understood. His hands dropped to his side, albeit reluctantly. He watched her slowly push herself up off him.

"Thanks." She gave him a coy smile. "It's Celes by the way." Without another word, she waved her wand to magically remove the mud off her plain black school robes then and headed for the doors.

As he picked himself up off the ground, he heard Harry chuckle softly. Glancing towards the Gryffindor, he caught the older student's grin directed at him. His cheeks flushed as he realized that he had been totally mesmerized by the young witch. Could that be her? He couldn't recall what she looked like when they were younger anymore. But she did say her name was Celes, which led him to think yes.

"She liked you, Toby," Harry remarked, smiling faintly.

"You think?" He glanced back towards the opened doors, catching a glimpse of her as she stared at him. He swallowed when he saw her wink before she disappeared behind the doors. Dear Merlin above, that _was_ her. The little minx.

"Hello, Harry," an airy voice suddenly said behind them. "And Harry's friend."

He slowly turned with Harry, holding back his snort at the sight of Luna Lovegood as she approached them. She still had that same dreamy look on her innocent-like face.

"Would you like me to remove the Wrackspurts for you?" she asked him.

"Uh, what?" he replied, glancing at Harry in feigned confusion. Oh, who would have thought he would have missed Ms. Lovegood's Wrackspurts and Nargles?

"No. I think he'll be all right, Luna. Thanks, though," Harry replied for him with a faint smile. "Though, you better get the mud off you, Toby, or you'll hear about it from Mr. Filch."

He nodded, waving his wand instinctively and banishing the filth from his robes. Following Harry inside then, he noticed instantly the stern looking witch standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Mr. Brooks, I presume?" she stated with a thin-lipped frown.

"I believe the quote is rather 'Dr. Livingston, I presume,' Professor," he retorted. He caught her raised eyebrow immediately and glanced down. He thought it was rather funny in an odd way.

"Follow me," she instructed, leading him into a nearby empty classroom. When the door closed behind them, she reached for an old shabby hat from a desk. "Usually we sort our transfer students in the Headmaster's office prior to the first-years' sorting, however, the office received extensive damage at the end of last year. I'm afraid we will have to sort you here then, Mr. Brooks." She placed the rundown Sorting Hat on his head and stepped back.

_Not Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor,_ he chanted before the hat yelled out . . .


	3. Sweet Partings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you continue, let me just admit that I haven't the slightest idea about how therapy goes in real life so it's not going to be all that realistic. Also, just in case this isn't clear, Aurora is going by the name Celes and Severus will be going by the name Toby while they're deaged. Enjoy.

Ravenclaw. The bloody damn hat had sorted him into Ravenclaw this time. Then again, he recalled before they regressed in age that his wife had asked the Headmaster to speak with the Sorting Hat so they'd be sorted into another House. He still wasn't certain what the point of that request of hers was, but he knew the hat had stated they'd be placed in their second House. Ravenclaw was his it'd seem. It could have always been worse he reminded himself. Ravenclaw was at least respectable.

In order to ensure her experiment was a success, they both had to act like they hadn't ever been to Hogwarts before. He was finding it difficult to ignore his learned habits of heading to his dungeons. Not to mention, it annoyed him greatly that he _had_ to ask where the stupid hospital wing was. As if he hadn't practically lived in the blasted place for the past three months as he recovered, physically and mentally. He tugged on his sleeves once more. Everyone had to believe that he was Toby Brooks, a fifteen-year-old transfer student from Durmstrang. Well, except Pomfrey. She knew their real identities just so she could continue their therapy sessions. Pushing open the sturdy oak door, he walked into the main area, glancing around.

"Hello?" he called out. He caught the movement by a door instantly before the matron walked out of her office. He noticed the confusion on her face followed by the quick understanding.

"Ah, you must be our new transfer student. Follow me, young man." She led him towards one of the private rooms. Once they were both inside, she closed the door and smiled faintly as the privacy wards raised to keep out eavesdroppers and nosy people. "How are you, Severus?"

"As well as to be expected, Madam," he replied quietly, taking a seat in one of the chairs. He hated therapy. Talking about his feelings. His fears. His recollections. Opening himself up to another person. It was all beyond ridiculous in his mind. However, he knew he needed it.

"Anxious?" she asked, sitting across from him.

"No. The prospect of this scenario, of being fifteen again, does not unsettle me that greatly. It is more of a wonder of the unknown, I suppose," he admitted, folding his hands across his lap.

"Have you spoken with Aurora yet?"

"We saw each other briefly." He rubbed his forearm when the matron remained quiet. He hated the silence most of all. It forced him to continue. "She fell on top of me as she was exiting a carriage."

"On purpose or accidental?" Pomfrey asked with a soft laugh.

"I'm unsure." He shrugged, wincing when he felt the familiar pain in his neck again. "It wouldn't be out of her character for it to be accidental. She is known for her _gracefulness_ ," he answered dryly. She was one of the clumsiest women he knew, but there was a certain grace to her clumsiness.

"That she is. Did you see her earlier during the Sorting Ceremony? I thought I saw you looking for her then."

"No. I didn't find her. Though, I'd imagine she'd speak with others. Keep her mind preoccupied in other words."

"Do you know if she's spoken with anyone yet?"

He glanced at Madam Pomfrey before sighing and shaking his head. "No. I know she's spoken with McGonagall a few times, but she's been busy. With her class."

"Does it still upset you? That she was away because of that?"

His hand clenched into a fist. Did it still upset him? Honestly. What the hell did she think? That he was glad to be alone in the afternoons as Aurora worked on her class work?

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"How ridiculous this is," he snapped, digging his nails into his hand.

"No. There's something else. What is it? Tell me."

"She left me alone, Pomfrey," he snarled, clenching his jaw. "She'd come back from her class and give me a simple kiss to the cheek before working on that stupid class of hers. Oh, she'd stay in the room. In my line of sight of course, but she wasn't there mentally. She threw herself into that bloody class. Hell, even this is another attempt to avoid."

"Why does it make you upset?"

"Because I love her, Pomfrey!" he hissed, the words exploding out of him in silent fury. "I love her, and I'm too damn worried about upsetting her to get her to see what I do when I look at her."

"What do you see?"

"That she's in pain like I was. She's avoiding it. Pushing it away. She's trying to be strong because of me. Because she thinks I need her to act like everything's fine. And I don't."

"Have you told her any of this?"

"Of course not." He shook his head, frowning. "It'd only remind her, and then she'd cry. I-I can't deal with her crying. I don't know how to handle it. I've never been able to handle a person crying."

"So you're frustrated then?"

"Obviously," he snapped, glaring at the matron. He looked away when she remained silent. He wouldn't let her make him talk anymore. Their session was over. He deemed it so.

As the silence stretched into minutes, he found his breathing return to normal. He didn't feel as angry as he had just moments before. He glanced down at his hand, sighing when he saw the drops of blood. He unclenched his hand immediately. He wordlessly took the cloth from Pomfrey when she offered and wrapped it around his hand. He had a habit of hurting himself accidentally now.

"Better?" she asked softly.

"Yes."

"Good. We'll move on."

He felt himself relax slightly at her declaration. He didn't like talking about that. Admitting that he was helpless and weak when it came to his wife—they might as well just commit him then.

"When was the last time you and Aurora were intimate?"

He grimaced at the question, moving slightly in his chair. Ignoring the slight redness to his face, he drew in a slow breath. He hated talking so thoroughly about his relationship with Aurora, but Pomfrey had told him at the start of their therapy sessions that it would come up and that nothing would be disclosed to others. It was just the two of them.

"A month ago," he answered quietly, brushing off his discomfort.

"All went well, I take it?"

He shifted again in his seat. Ever since Nagini's attack, he had found himself unable to hide his emotions as he had before. Due to the trauma inflicted upon him, Pomfrey had stated. He glanced down at the floor, feeling her eyes on him as she waited patiently. He refused to answer, though.

"Ah," Pomfrey said quietly. "I realize this is very uncomfortable for you to talk about, Severus. So, I'd like you just to nod yes or shake your head no to my questions, all right?"

He nodded slowly, his throat abnormally dry.

"Was it Aurora who had difficulties?" she asked.

He shook his head slowly, his hand rubbing his forearm nervously. No. It was him. She had been perfect throughout, as she usually was—patient and caring.

"Did you become aroused?"

He nodded slowly. His rubbing of his arm became furious then as he swallowed, his jaw clenched to keep back the words of frustration and anger. Uncomfortable didn't come close to what he was feeling right now. Shame. Embarrassment. Self-loathing.

"Did you experience premature ejaculation?"

He shook his head. If only it was that. It would have been better in his opinion if he had.

"Did you penetrate her?"

He nodded again. It was the only damn thing he did do that night. He kept his eyes transfixed on a spot on the floor as he waited for her next question.

"Were you unable to maintain your erection?"

Maintain one's erection. He scoffed bitterly. What a wretched way of stating it. He then nodded slightly. It wasn't from a lack of trying on their parts. Aurora had tried to help. He just couldn't stay aroused. A beautiful naked woman in his bed, pressed against him, wanting only him—and nothing.

"Severus," she started to say, waiting for him to glance at her before continuing. "It's normal after suffering through a traumatic event as you did to experience some form of erectile dysfunction. Just like the nightmares you've had, it'll likely get better with time."

"What if it's not psychological, Madam? Then what? Am I supposed to use some potion to stay aroused the rest of my life? If so, you might as well just let me die now."

"Severus," she admonished sharply. "I realize that you are frustrated currently. However, saying such things as that will not help you." She sighed. "Could it be a result of the venom? Yes. It's possible. However, the only way to know for certain is by testing."

"I'm already doing that, thank you."

"Then, you've already made an attempt at masturbating?"

He coughed instantly before opening and closing his mouth a few times. How in the hell could she just throw that out there and not blush like mad as he was? What the hell did matrons learn at medical school anyway?

"I take it that's a no then," she said calmly.

"You want me to wank off, Madam?"

"It is the most comfortable way to figure out if your problem is psychological or physical, Severus. And I'll be honest. It's my opinion that it is purely psychological in nature of why you cannot maintain an erection." She glanced up at the clock before looking back at him and standing. "In fact, I'm going to give you a bit of an unorthodox assignment to work on this week."

He frowned. Unorthodox assignments were starting to become a theme.

"Every night before going to bed, I would like you to look at this." Out of a stack of a dozen or so magazines, she pulled one from the very middle out and handed it to him.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw the cover. She was giving him an adult magazine?

"I realize you'd rather the women were that of your wife, but we'll have to make do with this for now," she explained as if it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to hand out erotica to her patients. "I'd like you to spend five minutes becoming intimately familiar with this material if you know my meaning."

"You want me to wank off to an adult magazine," he replied dryly.

"Ravenclaw's dorms are a series of private rooms now, like Slytherin's. So, no worries of people walking in on you as you complete this assignment. In a week, we'll see how it went and then go from there." She gave him a faint smile, holding out a bottle of Dreamless Sleep. "I'm ordering you to take it tonight, Severus. This is the first night you two have slept apart in years. It'll be difficult. So, take it."

* * *

Having stuffed the magazine in his deep pockets, he headed towards the Ravenclaw dormitory with his potion in hand. He reached the bronze eagle-shaped knocker not long after, knocking it once. He frowned when the eagle's beak opened.

"Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" asked the eagle in a sing-song voice.

"Man," he answered. "Man crawls as an infant, walks in adulthood, and uses a cane when elderly." A moment later, he stepped inside as the door opened.

His eyes swept over the common room quickly, taking in the impressive architecture. Aurora would have loved it here. The starry ceiling and the dark blue carpet—she'd never leave. He shook his head and then proceeded to the fifth-years dorms. However, he paused when he found a familiar dishwater blond witch standing in front of the door, her silvery gray eyes watching him.

"Excuse me," he said with a forced smile, trying to move past her.

"Was it an accident or intentional?" Luna replied, half-smiling.

He paused instantly, his eyes darting to her.

"Was _what_ an accident or intentional?" he repeated quietly. Judging by her look, he needed to throw her off. "Look. I'm merely trying to get to my bed to sleep. All right?"

"I know."

"Then let me pass. I don't have time for games." He felt a chill sweep over him when she rested a hand on his arm directly over where his Dark Mark used to be.

"Redemption is a hard road. Often times one finds himself alone. So, it's always good when you have someone by your side to lean on. Don't you agree, Toby?"

He glanced about the area before casting _Muffliato_ around them. His frown deepened.

"What do you know?" he asked softly, holding her perceptive eyes.

"No person heals the same way, so we each take different paths." She then looked him up and down. "Some use spells. Others use potions."

"Dammit," he mumbled. He should've known that Luna would figure it out. She was always a sharp witch. She had even known before he truly had the difficult path he would have to take in the end. "This stays between us. Understood?"

"Of course." She then squeezed his arm sympathetically. "It was the scent of herbs by the way. Though, I doubt she'd much enjoy it if you removed it. It's rather calming, I think."

He nodded slowly. It was rather hard to remove the smell of one's profession after all. He then watched her turn her head to the side as she looked him over again. What was she going to say now?

"Don't worry, Toby. I'll keep an eye on her for you."

"Who?"

She gave him that familiar mysterious look of hers. It was something akin to Albus's, he mused.

"You shouldn't keep her waiting any longer, Toby," she replied before turning and leaving.

His brows knit together. How could she know that he was going to speak with Aurora? He hadn't even been thinking about it at the time. He frowned inwardly, locking it away in his mind that was designated for the mysteries of Luna Lovegood. He pushed open the door to the boys' dormitory then and headed for the only opened door left in the small alcove.

Closing the door behind him, he looked around the empty bedroom. With Ravenclaw-themed drapes hung, a four-poster bed rested against the wall. His trunk was at the foot of his bed, and a simple mirror above the nightstand resided on the bed's right side. He quickly moved to his trunk, unlocking it and pulling out a handheld mirror. He smirked inwardly when his reflection rippled before he saw her.

"About time," teased the seemingly young witch. _Aurora_. "What took you so long?"

"I was delayed by Miss Lovegood. I apologize." He caught her soft smile as she shook her head. To an outsider who didn't know her, she seemed happy. But he knew deep down that it was all an act, one that she likely had perfected over the years as they wore their individual masks to survive.

"So . . . Ravenclaw, hmm?" she said. "I suppose I can see it. You are a bit of a bibliomaniac."

He snorted, noticing her House colors behind her. Hufflepuff. It fit her exactly. Better than Slytherin ever had at least.

"I suppose I should be grateful that you're not a dreaded Gryffindor," he drawled. "Had you been placed there, I might have had to find myself a new wife when all this was over."

"Oh, shut it, you arse." Her usual playful tone was there, but it was mixed with another emotion of some kind. He wasn't certain what, however. She had become rather good at hiding herself from him. She had a strong protective mechanism he recognized from his sessions with Pomfrey.

His eyes took in her background. Lit copper lamp on the wall, a yellow-and-black quilt on her bed. There was a clear comfort feeling with all of it. Homey in other words. He then noticed the potion bottle on the nightstand behind her.

"You received Dreamless Sleep, too?" he inquired.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "She thinks that it'll be a difficult night."

He nodded slowly. It likely would be. They hadn't slept separately for three years now. He glanced at his bottle of Dreamless Sleep and frowned, knowing what he had to do.

"We'll take it together, then, Celes."

"What?"

"We'll take it simultaneously. That way we can trick ourselves into thinking we slept beside one another, all right?" He caught her hesitant nod before she reached back to grab her bottle. He uncorked his and waited. "On three?" She nodded again. "One. Two. Three." With his hand wrapped around the bottle to cover it, he brought it to his lips, watching her do the same. His tongue quickly acted like a stopper to hold the potion back as he feigned drinking it as he watched her drain her bottle. After a moment later, he brought the supposedly empty bottle from his lips.

They had a few moments before the potion would kick in. He took the moment to remove his robes, trousers, shirt, and tie to strip down to his boxers. He could hear her changing in the background, smiling inwardly as he thought for a stray moment of watching her undress. However, he didn't.

Instead, he thought about how this time around, being fifteen again, would be different. He didn't have James Potter and his gang of idiots to deal with this time. No Death Eaters either. Hell, no Dark Lord. No graying underwear either. Nothing but him pretending to be a normal fifteen-year-old Ravenclaw student. It'd be practically paradise with no worries but getting his schoolwork done. He could start over. Entirely. Well, pretend to at least. They'd only be fifteen for the school year he reminded himself quickly, so it'd be temporary as well. He could have that life he had secretly dreamed of having when he was a student himself decades ago: the girlfriend, the friends, the happiness that came with it, the sense of belonging and love.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked softly, now wearing a pair of shorts and tank top.

Looking at the two-way mirror, he shook his head with a laugh. "Nothing of importance." He slid between the sheets, watching her do the same. In a way, it did feel like she was there with him. He held the mirror in his hand, holding it in front of his face.

"Good night, Severus," she yawned, closing her eyes as the Dreamless Sleep took effect.

"Sweet dreams, Celes," he whispered back. He watched her sleep for several minutes in his two-way mirror. She looked so peaceful, so relaxed, as if she wasn't tortured by the dark events of last May anymore. His fingers brushed the glass, tracing her reflection before he set the mirror aside. She'd be asleep until tomorrow morning he estimated. Not even a troll could wake her right now.

He slowly got back up out of bed then, heading to the small window in his room and opening it. He whistled loudly and waited. Not long after, a tawny owl glided into the room. He frowned when it stared at him, expecting its treat.

"Damn bird," he mumbled, holding the treat out. He clenched his teeth when it nipped his finger. The blasted thing never had liked him. Hell, the only reason he had bought it was because Aurora and the damn bird took a liking to one another for some reason. "Copernicus, I need you to deliver this package to her tomorrow in the Great Hall." He didn't need to state that the intended recipient was Aurora. The damn thing knew he meant her just by the pronoun use. He grabbed the wrapped package from his trunk, tying it to the bird's foot. It was light enough not to cause the bird any problems. He then sent it off, knowing from experience that the owl would do as instructed. He slipped back into bed, glancing at the mirror to watch her sleep for a few moments. Tonight, he was Severus, watching over Aurora. Tomorrow, they'd be Celes and Toby, fifth-years. He soon drifted off himself.


	4. Fears

Waking up the following morning, she stretched, yawning before grabbing her handheld mirror. She sighed when she only saw her reflection. He always was an early riser. She shook her head, throwing off the handmade quilt as she got up out of bed.

Their first day as Toby and Celes. Oh, she could only imagine how this day would go. Chances were that she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off him today. She rarely did when they were married. Now, seeing him like this, Merlin himself wouldn't be able to stop her. She laughed, running a hand through her tight curls. She needed to get a move on if she was going to make it to breakfast today.

She quickly headed off to the showers, towel in hand. She had always hated the community showers when she was a student. The recurrent fear of someone walking in on her taking a shower scared her like nothing else. She glanced around, noticing that the room seemed empty thankfully.

Turning the water on a moment later, she stripped down and stepped into the shower, snapping the curtain closed behind her. She showered as fast as she could, hating the vulnerability she currently felt. At any moment, someone could enter the room and attack her. She was practically defenseless.

She washed her hair silently, closing her eyes to keep the shampoo out. At the sound of something falling somewhere behind the shower curtain, she jumped, whirling around and grabbing the wall to keep herself upright. She quickly rinsed the shampoo out before she stared at the curtain, clearly on her guard as her mind tricked her by replaying the events of last May in her head.

_Boom! Her tower shook violently, causing her to lose her balance and stumble. She somehow caught herself thankfully. It was too dangerous clearly, even if it did give her a good vantage point to see the hell that had engulfed Hogwarts. She quickly headed for the trapdoor, climbing down the ladder._

_More curses struck the base of her tower and caused it to shake again. Likely an attempt by the jackarse Death Eaters to level it, she mused. She had just reached the middle of the observatory when someone Apparated with a swirl of robes behind her. Her hand tightened around her wand instantly. However, before she could get a curse off, a hand covered her mouth as an arm wrapped around her midsection to hold her against her attacker. She felt the sickly feeling of side-along Apparation then._

"No!" she yelled, her voice echoing around the room. She quickly came back to herself, feeling herself tremble. Sliding down the wall, she openly wept, her legs pulled up against her chest. Why couldn't she just move on like the others? Why did she have to remember that night over and over again? Why the hell didn't the memories just leave her alone? He didn't have these flashbacks anymore.

She drew in a series of sharp breaths, attempting to calm herself once more. Sitting and crying about it wouldn't help. Nothing would. When she convinced herself that she had pushed back the memories and feelings attached with it, she pushed herself up again. She needed to be strong. For them.

Turning off the water, she held a hand out and summoned her towel. She wrapped herself up tightly in it prior to reaching for her clothes on the other side of the curtain. She frowned when she noticed someone's shampoo bottle lying on the floor. So that was what that noise was earlier.

Shaking her head, she dried herself off and quickly dressed in her Hufflepuff uniform. She tugged on her tie one last time to make it less constricting before she left the room. Breakfast was clearly calling her, judging by her stomach growling.

She grabbed her bag with her books from her room and headed towards the common room. She paused when she saw a tall curly-haired young man standing by the door. Her warm brown eyes glanced around the room, wondering whom he was waiting for.

"Oh, there you are," her housemate said brightly. He quickly held his hand out. "Justin Finch-Fletchley. I thought I'd introduce myself since I didn't have a chance last night."

She gave a soft awkward laugh before she hesitantly shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, I guess." A part of her wanted to flee. It was bad enough knowing that the young man in front of her had a crush on her when she was his professor. Now, being closer in age to him just made her that much more uncomfortable. Not to mention, she knew how Toby would react if he were here. "I'm Celes Martins," she lied, shifting her weight slightly. "And I'm sort of hungry. So . . . nice to meet you but bye." She took a step to walk past him, stopping when he stepped back into her path.

"I'm hungry, too. What a coincidence." He forced a laugh. "Let me walk you to the Great Hall."

She forced a painful smile, nodding slowly. Oh, Circe, why didn't the boy ever get the hint that she wanted to be left alone? She followed him silently, though, tuning out his mindless chatter. Merlin and Circe and everyone else above, help Finch-Fletchley if they ran into Toby.

As they neared the Entrance Hall, she felt her stomach clench tighter. If she walked in with him right now, he'd end up flat on his arse with a curse or two. Where was Luna when she needed her? She then laughed silently when she saw the familiar dishwater blond waiting at the top of the stairs.

"Hello," Luna quietly said, turning her head to the side as she looked at them. "I believe Professor Sprout was looking for you earlier in the Greenhouse, Justin. Something about your project."

"Really? Oh. Well." He forced a polite smile to cover his disappointment of having to leave. "I better go see her, then." He turned and quickly headed outside.

"Thanks," she said to Luna.

Luna only smiled, though. "Shall we go to breakfast? I hear that it's quite delicious this year. Now that they've stopped using Lyrica root."

She laughed softly, nodding. Luna always made her smile. She walked beside the Ravenclaw, knowing they had a short distance left before they reached the Great Hall.

"He worries about you," Luna quietly stated. "He barely slept last night in fact." She continued walking in silence for a few moments. "I found him this morning on the sofa, staring at the fire. He wishes he could talk to you, but he doesn't want to cause you any more pain."

"What do you suggest?" she asked quietly.

"We're all hurting this year. Each with our own pain. Yet, instead of hiding yours, you could let him help. He does love you, Celes."

"I know he does, Luna."

"Then, stop pushing him away. Ask him to help battle your Nargles with you," she replied flatly, pushing open the heavy oak door to the Great Hall. "He asked you the same after all, didn't he?" Luna walked away from her a moment later in silence to head to the Ravenclaw table.

She glanced at the table, finding Toby staring back at her instantly. She could see the concern in his eyes even from there. She turned away, though, heading to Hufflepuff's table. Maybe later.

* * *

From the Ravenclaw table he was sitting at, Toby looked across the table towards Celes as she silently ate her breakfast, a few of her housemates talking to her. It was getting easier now to refer to himself as Toby instead of Severus. Then again, being Toby was like wearing yet another mask, and he was good at wearing masks since he had done it most of his adult life thanks to Dumbledore.

"Hey, Toby?" said a sixth-year next to him, hitting him lightly in the arm.

He frowned, refusing to break his gaze from Celes. "What?"

"Why don't you just go for it?"

He tore his gaze from her reluctantly, glancing at the sixth-year. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you just walk over there and ask her out?"

"Who?" He didn't trust the other boy. Then again, he did have a hard time trusting others.

"The curly dark-haired witch you've been staring at the past five minutes. You might as well just bite the big one and ask her. Otherwise, you'll never get a shot with her."

He forced his face to remain neutral when he heard the other boy's stray thought of how Toby likely didn't have a chance in hell to begin with but that it'd be amusing as hell to watch. Oh, if only he had known Legilimency when he had been in school with James Potter and Sirius Black, both of which who loved to torment him. It would have saved him many times from embarrassing himself at the expense of one of their stupid pranks. Wiser now, he scoffed, shaking his head.

"Clearly, you're inept when it comes to witches, aren't you?" Toby stated, laughing.

"What?"

"No witch wants to be asked. She wants to be told what to do, dominated." He snorted, taking a drink of his juice. "Honestly. Don't you know anything about girls?" He caught the other boy's shocked look instantly. He silently laughed. So the bully wasn't used to looking stupid. How truly sad.

"You made that up!"

"Prove it," Toby replied, shrugging. He sat there smugly when the other boy got up and left. Served the git right for trying to make an arse out of him. He caught a few other students' hidden smiles. However, he turned back to Celes.

"Post's here," someone announced at a nearby table.

His dark eyes immediately glanced upwards to watch Copernicus glide down to Celes. He smiled inwardly when the ruddy bird dropped her package. He needed to see her reaction. Even if they were just supposed to be friends for the first month, she was still his wife.

He watched her frown at first before she slowly undid the ribbon that tied the package closed. She then ripped open the wrapping paper, pulling out his gift for her. His eyes took in every minute facial reaction she made. He saw the confusion on her face first, likely wondering who the hell gave her a journal. A soft smile followed closely behind as she opened to the first page. He watched her fingers pass over the words that he knew were there, since he had penned it himself.

He had written a simple explanation that stated the journal was for her to record her thoughts and recollections about the day in, giving her something to refer back to later in terms of her research. However, he had closed his justification with a simple heart. Normally, there would be no way in hell that he'd have drawn that symbol, but he needed her to know without a doubt that it was from him without telling her.

He watched her quickly close the journal as Professor Sprout handed out timetables. A part of him was glad she had done that. His handwriting likely would have given them away. It was the one thing he could rarely mask.

"Ah, Mr. Brooks. There you are," Professor Flitwick squeaked behind him. "Your timetable. Quite an ambitious one, too."

Toby nodded slowly with a soft laugh. Ambitious? Hermione Granger had taken a similar schedule as his in her fifth year. It was actually the most sensible of her choices. He glanced over it, thinking back to what he knew from his years of handing out timetables himself.

"Damn. We have everything with the 'Puffs again this year," someone in his year groaned further down the table.

"Better them than the Slytherins," someone else pointed out.

"Or, Merlin forbid, the Gryffindors," another person said.

"Yeah, but I wanted some competition this year, you know? Poor losers."

Toby said nothing. He had thought that the students fighting together as one would have caused the usual rivalries to vanish. That wasn't the case, however, it'd seem. He stood up when he noticed Celes was moving towards the doors quickly. He glanced back to where she had been sitting, noticing no hushed whispers to give reason that someone had said something to her. Hastily, he went after her, wondering what could be wrong.

As he walked around a corner, he was suddenly yanked by his tie, letting out a strangled noise before he stumbled into the nearby classroom. The door shut behind them. His guard lowered instantly at the sight of Celes. Blasted witch nearly ended up with a few lovely curse marks for that.

"You should be more careful, Celes," he stated, fixing his tie as he waited for her to speak. "I could have hexed you."

"And I would have blocked it." She smiled before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, love," she whispered, embracing him warmly. "It's beautiful."

"It's a journal," he replied, shrugging slightly. He caught her eye roll a moment later. "What other classes did you take?" His arms instinctively wrapped around her loosely.

"Runes, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies."

"No Care of Magical Creatures?" he asked with a faint smirk. She was always one advocating about learning new creatures and how she wished she could have had Hagrid as a professor.

"It's a required class this year. Didn't you know?"

"It is?" He hadn't heard that. Then again, it wasn't like he went to staff meetings as he recovered anyway. On the other hand, neither had she for that matter. "Why?"

"No Astronomy this year," she answered as if it was nothing big.

"What!" he exclaimed. "He's required to find your classes a substitute while you're on sabbatical. Not cancel it."

"Whatever." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore anyway."

He frowned inwardly. It didn't matter? Did she even hear herself currently? He felt his gut clench as he realized that she was more like him now than he had thought. He had thought she was in pain, hiding it from him. Now, he knew that wasn't the case. She was just numb to her own pain. She likely didn't even know anymore how hurt she really was.

"Celes," he started to say, only to stop when she pressed a finger to his lips.

"It's not the end of the world, Toby. Hell, it's not like anyone will even notice. Plus, it's new and interesting. It's the first time in sixteen years that there's no Astronomy. Might be fun." She smiled, kissing him gently before resting her head on his shoulder. "You're worried, aren't you?"

"No."

"Liar," she said with a laugh. "I'm fine, Toby. I'm fifteen again with a soon-to-be dashing boyfriend while getting credit for dating him. You don't need to worry. Trust me. I'm good. Actually, I'm better than good. I'm great."

He didn't believe her in the slightest, but he knew better than to argue. At times, she was almost as stubborn as he was. He held her silently for a few moments, closing his eyes as he relaxed. As long as she was in his arms, he knew she was safe.

At the feel of her lips on his, he reopened his eyes, glancing at her. He swallowed when her hand snaked through the slight opening in his robes and sought out his chest. What was she doing?

"Celes?" Was she changing the plan? They were going to wait a month, he thought.

"What do you say to skiving off and _exploring_?" she whispered, her fingers playing with his belt.

He would say a lot of things, but he remained quiet and just stared at her. Her mood had shifted. He thought about pushing her back from him, only he didn't. He couldn't really. All his self-control went out the window minutes ago with her kiss. He hissed silently when she unbuckled his belt and slid her hand underneath his waistband. He felt his abdomen clench at the unexpected touch. Was this a case of her exhibiting the normal teenage hormones already or was it something more? A distraction likely. Her lips went to his neck, gentle kisses pressed against the sensitive area. A groan escaped him. What was going on with her? His heart raced as she continued her sweet assault. He needed to stop this. Before it went too far. He could feel himself slightly tremor.

"Celes," he groaned, his hands grabbing her upper arms.

"Shh, love. It's all right."

No. It wasn't. He drew in a shaky breath, trying to summon the necessary strength. Something was going on with her again. He had seen it before during the summer. She'd get in _these_ moods.

"Celes, stop. Please. We can't do this right now." _He_ couldn't do this right now. While inside he was aroused as hell—his blood feeling as if it was on fire, he still wasn't responding the right way down below. He, in fact, knew that he was still limp in her hand, much to his disgust.

"It'll work. I'll be patient this time," she promised, nibbling gently on his earlobe.

He closed his eyes at her words. She was patient for most of last time, too. Only he had grown frustrated with himself to the point of nearly becoming violent with her. He still to that day was afraid of losing control and hurting her again.

"Celes, no. Not now." He felt her release him instantly, withdrawing her hand from his trousers. He caught the brief flash of anger in her eyes, but said nothing. He knew from experience that his pointing out her anger at his saying no would only make it worse. She whirled around and stormed out.

He sighed when the door slammed shut behind her. Would they ever be the same again? Would they ever heal from the emotional scars left on their souls? At this point, he wasn't certain. He closed his eyes. Three years ago, they were happy and very much in love. They didn't show it to anyone else, of course, since it was too dangerous, but they were. The war had changed them, however. It had shattered their relationship to the very core, leaving them both broken and in pieces. His were slowly being put back together he knew with his therapy sessions with Pomfrey. Hers remained on the floor, untouched. If he could, he'd absorb every ounce of her heartache, every drop of her pain himself. He hated knowing that she was suffering in silence, too damn stubborn and too damn selfless to take care of herself for once instead of him. It was partly why he had agreed to regressing in age with her. He thought it might help her heal somehow, being younger—seemingly innocent again. He sighed. He needed help. Before he truly did lose her to the darkness that was slowly consuming her inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll see more flashbacks of May 2nd in the coming chapters. I promise. Tell me what you think, please.


	5. How a Soul Shatters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very emotional chapter ahead. Just so you're warned, grab the tissues.

Later that afternoon, Celes walked into the hospital wing. Her brown eyes glanced about the main area in an attempt to find Madam Pomfrey. However, she clearly wasn't looking hard enough. She sighed, kicking one of the loose stones on the floor loudly.

"Hello?" she yelled, obviously annoyed. She crossed her arms when the matron slowly emerged from one of the far rooms. "You asked to see me, Madam," she said bitingly as if she had better things to do than to be there.

"I did, Miss Martins. Please come with me."

"Fine. Is this going to take long, though? I have class."

"Oh? I was under the impression that you've skipped all of your classes so far, Miss Martins. At least that's what your professors have told me." Madam Pomfrey said nothing when Celes glared before she glanced towards the high arched windows. She merely continued towards the private room a moment later. Once they were inside the room, she silently closed the door. "Take a seat please."

Celes scoffed, but complied a moment later.

"As I'm certain you're aware by now, every student this year is required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation," Madam Pomfrey explained.

"Yeah, so? _I_ wasn't here last year."

"You're right. Celes wasn't, but _you_ were, Aurora. And, frankly, judging by the behavior you're exhibiting currently, this is long overdue."

"I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm fine, Madam."

"That's not what Severus is saying."

"What does he know? He's messed up."

"That's your anger and pain speaking."

"Oh? Is it really, Madam?" she mocked. "I didn't know that." She scoffed. "Are we done? Because I sure as hell am." She went to stand and leave, only to stop when Pomfrey spoke again.

"He acted just like this during his first session with me. He was scared. Just like you are. But we spoke, took things slowly, and now he's comfortable. He still fights me occasionally, but he talks eventually and tells me things."

"Congratulations. Would you like a medal for that?"

"What you're feeling right now is perfectly natural. You suffered a horrible—"

Celes clenched her teeth, hissing, "May I go, Madam?"

"Brushing your pain aside isn't going to help you deal with it."

"Maybe not, but at least I won't have to listen to you drone on about crap you know nothing about," she replied with a shrug. "Now, may I go?"

"No."

"You can't keep me here. I'm not your damn prisoner, Pomfrey."

"I can keep you here as long as I think you're a threat to yourself."

"Oh, Circe." She laughed derisively. "What? Do you think I'll hurt myself?"

"You've engaged in several instances of risky behavior this summer, Aurora."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have reports here from St. Mungo's that state you were involved in numerous bar fights. Not to mention, Minerva informed me that she ran into you with another man this summer in London."

"A friend. That's all." She shrugged listlessly. "Just like I told her."

"Normally, I'd agree with you. However, Minerva reported differently."

"Yeah, well, her eyesight is going bad. Because he was just a friend. That's it."

"Do you normally go up the stairs in the Leaky Cauldron with male friends, Aurora?"

"She misunderstood, dammit," she snapped. "All right?"

"No. It's not all right. Even your husband has noticed your reckless behavior. In fact, that's why he asked me to speak with you today. He's worried about you."

"Like I said, I'm fine, Pomfrey."

"Tell me what happened this morning in the abandoned classroom with Severus."

"Nothing," she hissed.

"That's not what he says."

"Well, he's lying. Nothing happened. Now, can I go?"

"Aurora, what are you trying to achieve with this behavior? What are you seeking?"

"To leave this damn place and go to class!"

"No. The truth. Tell me what you want, and I'll let you leave. I promise. Just tell me the truth. What is it that you're wanting?"

Her whole body was tense as she stood rigid, glaring at Pomfrey. What did she _want_? What the hell did Pomfrey think she wanted? She kept her jaw clenched. It was a trick. The witch wouldn't let her leave the hospital wing if she answered. There was no way in hell the matron would.

"What is it that you're trying to achieve? What do you want?" Pomfrey repeated.

"Nothing. Just let me go."

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"No."

"Just tell me the truth, and I'll let you leave. I promise."

She shook her head, though. It was a lie. Pomfrey wouldn't let her go. There was no way in hell of that happening. She'd be forced to talk more until she was dissected entirely and there was nothing left of her. She had seen how Severus was when he came home after his sessions with Pomfrey. She wasn't entirely oblivious to him.

"Aurora. Please. Answer me. What is it that you want? Severus told me that you became forceful with him this morning in that abandoned classroom. He told me that you became angry when he told you stop. Aurora, please. What is it that you want? You know what it is. Just tell me, and I'll let you leave. Just answer me. What do you want?"

"I want my—" Her mouth snapped shut instantly, stopping the honest answer from escaping. She couldn't say it. Not yet. She wasn't ready to tell Pomfrey, to tell anyone. Well, maybe Severus. She drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to be calm. "I want m-my life back. All right? Now, let me leave." She watched Pomfrey stand aside. Quickly, she rushed out of the room, fleeing for safety.

* * *

Lying atop of his bed in the Ravenclaw dormitory, Toby glanced up at the ceiling with his hands on his stomach. His mind replayed his conversation with Madam Pomfrey, causing him to sigh loudly. Celes would be pissed with him for going to the matron, but he didn't know what else to do. She needed help, and he knew he couldn't help her. However, he hadn't known just how bad she needed help until Pomfrey informed him of the reports.

During the first month of her class, June in other words, Celes—or rather Aurora in this case he decided to say—had been involved in numerous bar fights when she should have been at her class. He hadn't been an idiot of course. He knew that first month of her leaving to go to class had been rough for her. Hell, he even recalled smelling alcohol on her breath a few times, looking back on it now. However, he hadn't known it was that bad.

Pomfrey had stated that Aurora had gone to St. Mungo's after a few of those fights. Not on Aurora's own accord it sounded like based on the reports. A few times, she had been taken there by Aurors, who always seemed to release her for some reason with only a warning not to start a fight again. He frowned as the list of injuries rattled off in his mind. Lacerations. Bruises. Broken arm. Broken knuckle. Broken nose. Broken ribs. Punctured lung. He couldn't recall her ever coming home in pain or even looking like she had been in a fight. Pomfrey had explained it away, though, stating that Aurora likely had casted a glamour on herself and took pain potions to hide her injuries from him.

He closed his eyes, wishing he hadn't heard Pomfrey continue her report earlier. The matron had gone on to state that Minerva had once witnessed Aurora heading to a Leaky Cauldron male patron's room. His heart clenched agonizingly as he swallowed back his pain. He had begged Pomfrey to tell him when Minerva had seen the encounter, needing to know. When she had stated the date, he nearly retched at the realization that it had been just a day after he had lost his temper when Aurora was being pushy once more and begging him to sleep with her. She had been in one of _those_ moods again.

In July and August, it seemed as if Aurora was better according to there being no reports of recklessness and from Minerva's own observances. Though, he knew why. He had given in to Aurora, stopped fighting her and slept with her whenever she begged him. Only their sex life wasn't the way it had been before May 2. Hell, it wasn't anywhere near what one could call a sex life anymore in fact. He couldn't stay aroused with her. No matter what the hell they tried. One moment he'd be harder than granite, ready to shag her for hours or at least feeling like he could. The next it was as if all the blood rushed from his erection and left him with just a limp member while still feeling hot as hell. However, his making the effort of wanting to have sex with her was enough to satisfy whatever it was that made her nearly jump him during these times.

He frowned, recalling the first time Aurora had been in one of these moods. He had just started moving around their rooms on his own since he had been bedridden for a few weeks in May. She had come in after talking with Minerva, clearly frustrated by her talks. She had immediately headed to him when she saw him up and around. He had thought at the time that she was going to help him. Only when she grasped his face and started snogging the hell out of him, he realized his error. He had nearly fallen, choosing instead to sit back on the sofa.

The way Aurora acted that day—or whenever she'd get in these strange moods—was as if someone had given her a powerful lust potion. It wasn't her anymore. She'd become forceful with him, aggressive at times, randy as hell in other words. It was as if she didn't shag him right then and there, she'd die. Her nails had raked against his flesh painfully, leaving behind marks. She'd never hurt him. He knew that in his very heart that Aurora wasn't like that. But during these moods of hers, it was as if all that he knew about her was a lie. She'd become downright animalistic with him sometimes. And more than a few times, he could recall where she'd openly sob, her fists hitting his chest when he couldn't satisfy her because of his inability.

Something had changed in her after the events of May 2. He scoffed. Something had changed in all of them at Hogwarts. They were all rough now, tortured and broken. Some more than others. He knew his wife's soul had been broken that day. He even knew how. However, he didn't know how to glue it back together. How did one mend a soul after losing something so— He felt the hot tears run down his cheeks, causing him to swipe them away angrily. Why didn't the loss affect him that badly? Was he truly that heartless, that cold-hearted?

A knock suddenly forced him to sit up and stare at the closed door. Who could possibly be bothering him now? He glanced at the clock, frowning. It was seven. Whoever it was knocked again a moment later.

"Who is it?" he yelled, knowing the person would be able to hear him.

"Luna. You have a visitor, Toby."

A visitor? His brows furrowed. Who could possibly want to speak to him? He then exhaled loudly. Potter likely. The boy had a horrible knack for breaking the rules after all. He got up soon after, heading to the door and opening it.

"Where?" he asked, not noticing anyone with Luna.

"In the common room." The mysterious dishwater blond smiled faintly. "I believe she's come to apologize for earlier."

"Celes," he whispered, the name escaping his lips before he could stop himself. She was here? He caught Luna's smile widen instantly. "Thank you, Luna."

He didn't wait for her reply. He quickly strode down the hall to the common room. His mind raced with thoughts of why Celes would come visit him. Was Luna right? Was Celes there to apologize? Or maybe she was there to slap him for telling Pomfrey about her? He brushed back his thoughts, though. None of them would help him anyway.

With one foot in the common room, he found himself instantly enveloped in a strong hug. He had to take a step back because of the force. What did a hug mean? Good? Bad? Worse? Merlin, if only he understood females.

"I'm sorry, Toby," Celes whispered. "I acted like a bitch earlier. I-I didn't mean. I'm sorry."

He glanced around the common room, thankful it was empty. They needed somewhere private, where they could talk. He slowly pulled back, grabbing her hand and leading her to his room. Females, after all, were allowed in the male dorms. Though, it was rather frowned upon of course. He closed the door behind them.

"Shh," he said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's fine." He'd be the understanding one now.

"No. No it's not. I-I'm sorry. I don't know why . . . I didn't mean to do that."

"It's all right, Celes." He hated it when she cried. He was absolutely pants at comforting her. She'd cry, and he'd do practically anything to get her to stop. It was one of the few weaknesses he couldn't hide from others. Crying was just so damn uncomfortable to witness in his opinion.

He pulled her to his bed and lay down, holding her in his arms as if to protect her. He could feel her journal tucked under her robes, close to her heart. Idly, he wondered if she had written in it yet. He patiently waited as she calmed down.

"I'm sorry, Severus."

"Stop apologizing," he replied quietly, his chin resting on top of her head.

"Pomfrey wanted me to tell her. I-I couldn't. She wanted to know what I wanted. What I was trying to accomplish when I-I do that to you."

He remained silent. It sounded similar to his sessions with Pomfrey, where the matron always wanted him to explain himself and what he was thinking. It annoyed him greatly, but he'd admit it did do some good every now and then.

"I-I told her that I wanted my life back," she cried softly. "I lied."

She quickly started to dig in her robes, which made him move his arms so she'd have better access. A few moments later, she pulled out her journal, holding it to him to grab.

"I can't say it. I-I just can't. Please?" she whispered as the tears rolled down her face.

He silently took her journal. He felt her resituate herself, rolling herself over so she'd face him. Instinctively, he rolled onto his back, knowing what pose she was wanting. She swiftly rested her head on his chest, her arm draped over him.

Opening to the first page, he silently sighed. She was letting him in. Only he didn't have a clue as to how to help her. He truly didn't. He hadn't even known how to help himself. His eyes slowly moved over her elegant cursive, reading her words.

>   
> _We were happy once. Before the darkness settled in and ruined it all. I could make him smile with just one touch. Now, I only hurt him. Something's wrong with me. I don't know what. Sadness and grief, they say is normal. They say I'll get better with time. That it'll hurt less. I don't believe them. They lie. It's only become worse. The pain in me. The anger. The sadness. The loss. I want to go back. I don't want to be like this anymore. I want the pain in my chest to stop. I want the sadness that suffocates me to leave me the hell alone. But most of all, I want what was taken from me back. It's not fair. It's not. It's not fair. I waited for so long._ _ We _ _waited for so long. Why?_   
> 

He could feel her heartache, her emotions in her writing swirl around in his mind. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, kissing the top of her head. There were more words to read, so he continued.

> _I want to go back. I want to be like I was. Happy. In love. Hopeful. They say it'll take time to heal. My wounds aren't healing, though. My heart still has a hole in it. And I'm trying everything to fix it. To mend it. I don't want to be like this anymore. I want the pain to stop. Why won't it stop? I have to be strong. For us. It's the only way. But sometimes I wonder. It'd be easy to just let go. Just once. See if that would help. I can't, though. He needs me. So I hang on. So I fight. It's when I don't have any strength left that the monster inside comes out. I see myself hurt him. I see the pain in his eyes. I'm the reason for that. He told me to stay. To remain in the cottage. Why did I leave? Why didn't I listen? It's my fault. No one else's, but mine. I hurt now. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of hurting. I just want it all to stop. Just once. It's not fair. We waited so long. Why? I want what was taken from me back. I want my baby back! THAT'S WHAT I WANT! Give me back my baby! Please! That's Please. I want her back._

He inhaled shakily, closing his eyes. He could feel her tightly grasping him. He closed the journal, setting it aside on the table. How did one repair a shattered soul after losing one's child? He kissed the top of her head again, pulling her closer to give her every bit of his strength. At the sound of her mumbling against him, he glanced down, noticing that she had fallen asleep somehow.

She had been so happy when they found out she was pregnant. It broke her, losing their child. How could he be so cold, so heartless? He had lost a child just as she had. It didn't affect him that greatly as it did Aurora, though. They could try again for a child later in his mind. He still had _her_. That was all that mattered. He hadn't lost _her_ that day. It could have been so much worse.


	6. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Potions class, and Toby (Severus) recalls the start of their relationship

Having fallen asleep with her under a blanket of only moonlight, he slowly woke to find her watching him with a faint smile. He brushed aside a stray curl of hers, laughing softly. He hadn't felt in a long time as well rested as he did now. His eyes trailed over her, noticing that somehow they had moved in their sleep to him being on his side holding her as she lay on her back.

"Hi."

"Hi," he replied softly, barely above a whisper.

"What time is it?"

He moved slightly to glance over her head before snorting. "It's a little past one." She was breaking curfew now among the decorum rule.

"Hufflepuff's going to be way behind in points tomorrow."

"Only if they noticed you're missing, Celes."

"And here I thought this was my chance to make Hufflepuff kick your arse, Ravenclaw," she teased, poking him gently in the chest.

"Oh? We'll see about that in the morning. After all, you've yet to attend a single class." He smiled inwardly when he heard her laugh.

"Yeah, I was kind of an idiot earlier, wasn't I?"

"Perhaps a little. Honestly, though, I think you could make it work for you. This bad girl image you're making for yourself," he drawled. "That way when we start dating, people don't think it's me corrupting you this time. Works out loads better for me." He grinned widely, laughing when she lightly hit his chest. There was something about her that always brought out the rare playful side of him.

"I should go."

"Or you could stay," he said with a shrug. "We were sleeping rather well a few moments ago. And if you leave now, you'll likely be brought before Dumbledore and not get a bit of rest afterwards."

"Delay the inevitable in other words?"

"More along the lines of taking care of your beauty sleep," he replied with a shrug.

"I'll remember that when I'm getting my lecture tomorrow." She snuggled closer before her head flopped back against the pillow a few times. "Toby?"

"Yes, Celes?"

"What do you have stuffed in your pillow?"

He blinked a few times before laughing awkwardly. Oh dear. He smiled faintly and reached a hand into the pillow case, pulling out the magazine that he quickly tried to hide. Only she was too fast and grabbed his arm prior to him getting rid of it.

The moonlight from the window caught the magazine just right to show her the cover. He caught her eyes widening instantly. He winced slightly, feeling his face redden slightly.

"Why do you have an adult magazine stuffed in your pillow?"

"It's my assignment for the week. From Pomfrey." He cleared his throat, playing with a loose thread on his sheets. "She wanted me to look at it. And . . . you know. See if it helped my problem."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He rubbed at his neck. Merlin, it was hot in there now.

"And? Did it help?"

"I, well, um, yeah, but I didn't use the magazine." He felt horribly flustered. Then again, he was horribly uncomfortable. He always was. He could have sex, but talking about the intimate details of it was an entirely different animal. He'd become a shy teenager, red in the face as a tomato.

"What did you use, then?"

He closed his eyes instantly. He knew he was likely wearing a look of pain, but he answered a moment later. Oh, why wasn't it easier to talk about with her? He _had_ sex with her. Lots of times.

"The two-way mirror," he whispered, keeping his eyes firmly closed. He couldn't bear to look.

"Y-You used _me_ instead of . . . _that_?"

"Yes," he answered, grimacing.

Oh, what was wrong with him? She was his wife. There was nothing—absolutely nothing—to be embarrassed about. He was working on something for the continued good health of their sex life.

"And it worked? You, um . . ."

"Yes. Successfully."

"But I was asleep, though. Had the mirror held in front of my face all night. That's not anything to . . . wank off to." She laughed nervously. Her nervousness helped put him at ease.

"You were relaxed, calm, peaceful looking, happy and beautiful in other words." He felt her hands join with his and squeeze lightly. "I don't want some strange witch who has likely had work done and is enhanced to, to do that. All I really need is someone who's real, who has flaws but is still beautiful in my eyes, honest and that." His usual elegance was covered by his feeling of awkwardness.

"It's funny that we can have sex, but when we try talking about it, we might as well start talking about Dumbledore in a pink dress and red heels." He laughed, nodding as he squeezed her hand. "I know it won't help me. I do know that, Severus. That it won't bring her back." He pulled her closer, holding her lovingly. "I-I just want to feel whole again. I want her back."

"I know, Celes. And if I thought it'd help, I would do it. But we're not ready. Not physically, mentally, anything really. We need time to heal."

"What if when we're ready, I can't have children anymore?"

"Then, we'll adopt or see if we can get a surrogate." He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes. "The only thing in my life I want the most is you, Aurora. Everything else is just sprinkles on my perfect warm fudge cake." He heard her soft laugh instantly.

"Warm fudge?" she repeated with another laugh.

"Well, it was either that or Black Forest, and I really didn't want to be reminded of how you're related to them again." He smiled faintly as she wrapped her arms around him. "We should sleep." His eyes narrowed for a moment when she pulled back, realizing a second later that she was making herself comfortable for bed. He did the same and stripped down to his boxers. Handing his shirt to her, he watched her put it on to cover her undergarments before she snuggled up against him again.

"Good night, Celes."

"Night, Toby." And with that, they fell fast asleep again.

* * *

He glanced around the classroom the following morning, looking for her. She was going to be late if she didn't show up in the next few minutes. His brows furrowed. Merlin, this was the first class of the day. Where was she?

Since they had woken up together just a few hours earlier, he knew she was awake. He also knew that she was in a good mood when she had left. She had remarked before leaving about how their relationship had the ongoing theme of them sneaking around all the time. Which did hold some truth to it, he admitted.

They had snuck around when they were professors: she being the Astronomy Mistress, he being the Potions Master. They then later continued to sneak around with one another after they eloped, since it was too dangerous for others to know considering his role in Dumbledore's plans. Perhaps their sneaking around was the allure of their relationship, the thing that kept them interested. After all, all couples had that one thing. Perhaps this was theirs.

Watching more students filter into the room, his frown deepened as he realized she still hadn't shown up. Had something happened when she returned to her common room? He exhaled, glancing towards one of the Hufflepuff girls nearby.

"Hey. Um, have you seen Celes this morning?" He ignored his irritation with his own question. Adolescents were usually one who butchered the language in his opinion. There were the rare ones, of course, but it'd be too easy for others to realize who he was if he didn't throw them off somehow.

The blond stared at him for a moment before glancing at her friend. She sighed not long after. "Yeah." Her blue eyes returned to him after her friend nodded slowly. "She was in the bathroom last we saw." The Hufflepuff girl looked down at her table. "Sounded like she was sick or something."

His eyes widened. _What?_ She was fine when she had left him. He blinked a few times.

"Celes Martins," he repeated, speaking to the idiot girl slowly so she'd understand.

"Yeah, her." The two girls looked at him, then. Their eyes now held an accusatory look. "We know she was with you last night. Ethan told us all about it."

"Oh, really?" He scoffed before glancing at Ethan from across the room. However, before he could continue, a boy—Ravenclaw he noticed—clapped him on the back.

"Lay off him, Lea. Merlin." The curly-haired boy, who likely could have passed for a Sirius Black look-alike, then smiled cockily. "Girls. Honestly. They get their knickers in a twist about the littlest things."

Toby resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow towards the boy.

"So, is it true what they're saying, then, Toby? That you and, uh, that cute Hufflepuff girl shagged last night?" the boy asked, smirking.

Toby shrugged, hating himself for it. He was acting like James Potter currently. "I don't kiss and tell." He caught the boy's laugh and nod of appreciation before Toby was clapped on the back again.

"Way to go, Brooks." The boy held out his hand, smiling widely. "Name's Anthony Lark." He jerked his head towards the Hufflepuff girls. "Don't mind Lea and Robin. Those two are so desperate for attention that they'd kill for it. Isn't that right, loves?" The girls glared at him and turned away. Anthony opened his mouth to continue spouting crap, but the bell interrupted him.

Toby forced a pleasant smile as he watched Anthony take his seat with his friends. His dark eyes darted about the room, hoping she was there. But he didn't see Celes anywhere. She was the only one missing. He sighed, turning from the door to watch Slughorn slowly approach the front of the room.

"Right then. There we are. Welcome to fifth-year Potions." Slughorn smiled softly, resting his hands on his large belly. "Now, before we begin today, let me stress to you all the importance of the exams you'll be sitting next June. Your O.W.L.s. They'll—" The door slamming open stopped him instantly and caused everyone to glance towards it. "Ah." Slughorn's smile widened, his eyes twinkling lightly. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show at all again, Ms. Martins. Take a seat." He motioned to the empty spot next to Toby.

"Sorry, Professor." She slowly walked towards the spot. "I got lost."

"No matter. No matter, my dear." Slughorn then chuckled. "It is a bit overwhelming at first. Now, then. Where was I? Oh right. Your O.W.L.s. Ordinary Wizarding Level."

Slughorn continued to drone on, but Toby quickly tuned him out, focusing instead on Celes. He visually examined, noticing that the girls unfortunately seemed to be right. Celes did have a sort of sickly look. Her eyes were red and puffy. He wondered if she had been crying again. But it didn't make sense to him really. She seemed fine when she had left. She seemed fine during breakfast as well, healthy in his opinion, since he had watched her from afar. He leaned in towards her.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, careful not to draw attention to them as Slughorn continued.

"Nothing," she replied, equally as soft and evasively.

He frowned, resting his hand on his wand and casting _Muffliato_ around them so they'd not be overheard. "You're lying again, Celes."

"I'm fine, Toby. Just drop it," she hissed, clenching her fist. Her eyes remained on Slughorn.

"Celes, please. You were fine at breakfast. I—help me understand."

"It didn't agree with me, all right? Now, could we please act like we're paying attention? Not all of us are potions geniuses." She was clearly annoyed with him.

"Fine. On one condition." He brushed off her loud exhale and continued. "Whichever house has the most points at the end of class wins. Deal?" He watched her glance sideways.

"Fine. You're on. I'm going to prove to you that Hufflepuffs aren't idiots."

He smirked inwardly. That's what he was hoping for. After all, he hadn't said exactly _what_ she'd win. He turned back, canceling his spell.

"Now, then, shall we?" Slughorn motioned to the center table where there was a series of steaming cauldrons and vials. He smiled widely. "Before you are potions that we'll be brewing this year and several key ingredients that you'll be expected to recognize for your O.W.L.s. Most of these, you should recognize from last year. However, I've added a few tricky ones." He chuckled softly. "Well, come here then, class. Does you no good to be sitting over there." He stood off to the side, so the students could pack tightly around the table. He motioned to the first simmering potion. "Who can tell me what potion this is?"

Toby sniffed slightly, recognizing it immediately. He glanced around, waiting for someone to respond. It would be too easy if he had answered. He watched Celes raise her hand slowly.

"Yes, my dear?" Slughorn stated.

"It's Dreamless Sleep, sir," Celes answered quietly. "And you're missing the lavender."

"Quite right, my dear. Quite right." He chuckled, glancing around the room as he moved onto the next cauldron. "What about this potion?" Again, only Celes raised her hand. "Yes, my dear?"

"Draught of Peace, sir."

Toby smirked inwardly. She was doing well so far. Then again, she was good at identifying potions. He then noticed her flinch as she glanced into the next cauldron. He didn't blame her, however.

"Come now, class. Surely Miss Martins isn't the only one who knows potions." Slughorn stepped next to the potion simmering, motioning to it.

Sighing silently, Toby raised his hand when he realized none of his idiot housemates knew it. He waited until Slughorn nodded to him.

"The antidote to most venom, sir," he answered with a frown. He had certainly brewed enough of that over the years. "Specifically, I'd say this potion neutralizes snake venom."

"Very intuitive, Mr. Brooks, and quite correct. It is."

Toby nodded slowly, glancing away. He rubbed his hidden scars absentmindedly. Had he not dosed himself prior to heading to the Shrieking Shack that night, he'd have been—to use his father's words—shit out of luck. He frowned. He'd have to owl his parents soon. Glancing beside him at Celes, he wondered if she had sent an owl to her parents yet. He knew that both their parents knew about her losing the baby. Pomfrey had done that while they rested. He still wasn't certain how the matron kept their parents from bursting into the castle and demanding to see them.

The strong scent of raspberries overwhelmed him as he moved to the next potion, Amortentia. Toby then laughed silently as he amended his earlier thought. The fresh smell of a recent rain and raspberries were what he smelled. He glanced back at Celes, knowing that she smelled something entirely different. It still amused him that her scent for him of all things was herbs and the dungeons. He smirked inwardly, a distant memory flashing behind his eyes.

* * *

_Glancing out a nearby window as he continued his nightly patrol, he snorted when he saw the shadowy figure heading towards the castle in the pouring rain. Without so much as a glance to see if anyone else was watching him, he strode to the front door to greet the likely drowned person. Oh, this would be far too amusing._

_With a devilish smirk, he leaned against the now opened door. He crossed his arms, barely keeping from chuckling with glee. His dark eyes took note of the beautiful—and now utterly ruined—dress the witch was wearing. She was returning from yet another disastrous date. The third one that week, in fact, by his estimate. Not that he kept track of her dates, mind you. However, his look of amusement quickly vanished when she awkwardly fell after having slipped in the mud._

_He headed to her, not quite running but not walking so slowly either. He watched her grab her ankle, hearing her sniffle as she fought back the threatening tears. Soon after, he reached her, holding out his hand._

" _Come on. Let's get you inside the castle, Sinistra, before you get struck by lightning as well." He caught the flash of anger in her eyes instantly, but said nothing. He slowly helped her to feet, only to hear her strangled scream as she started to fall again. Glancing at her ankle, he caught the bruise spreading and sighed. Lovely. She likely had a sprained ankle, if not broken it with her ridiculously high heels. He frowned before swiftly picking her up into his arms._

" _What are you doing? Put me down, Snape!"_

" _Gladly. When we're inside the damn castle, woman," he growled. "Now, shut it or I'll leave you out here for the Dementors." He could see the creatures floating and watching them by the lake._

" _Bastard," she grumbled, settling in his arms a moment later._

" _Ungrateful witch." He carried her across the grounds and into the castle. However, instead of taking her up to the hospital wing or letting her down once inside, he carried her down to the dungeons._

_He frowned, walking into his rooms with her still in his arms a moment after his portrait swung open. He set her down on his sofa then, quickly moving to look at her badly swollen ankle. Mentally deciding which potions she needed, he sighed. "Remain here."_

" _As if I'd go anywhere else," she snapped, running a hand through her disheveled hair._

_He kept his tongue firmly between his teeth and headed for his private store. His dark eyes trailed over the various array of potions, plucking bruise paste and a mild analgesic potion from the shelves. Whirling around and causing his robes to billow, he headed back to his sitting room. He slowed as he heard her sniffling again. Her ankle couldn't have hurt that bad, but just in case he pulled out the stopper on the pain potion and handed it to her first._

_He watched her drink it before she handed it back empty. He banished the vial, kneeling down to look at her ankle. The strong smells of raspberries—her perfume he assumed—and rain enveloped him._

" _May I?" he asked quietly, motioning to her ankle. He waited until he received her jerky nod. He gently undid the strap to her shoe, removing the silver high heel a moment later. He lightly touched her deep bruise, glancing at her when he heard her sharp gasp of pain followed by a soft whimper. "I apologize," he said softly before he returned to his inspection. She clearly had a bad sprain. He grabbed the bruise paste, unscrewing the jar lid and scooping up a bit of the gooey substance inside. He did his best not to aggravate her ankle as he rubbed the paste on. A moment later, he ripped a large strip off his long flowing robes and wrapped it tightly around her foot to keep her from moving it._

" _Thanks," she whispered, wiping at her eyes._

_He merely inclined his head and stood up again. Taking the time to take her appearance in fully, he waited as she fought to hold back the tears. Her hair was badly disheveled, curls strewn about every which way and frizzing as it dried. Her makeup had run down her face, but he wasn't certain if it was from the rain or the tears. Completely and utterly ruined now, her lightly-colored chiffon evening gown was plastered to her ashen skin, leaving hardly anything to his imagination. He caught her shivering and frowned. She was going to catch her death if he left her in those clothes._

" _Use my shower and warm up. I'll see if I can do anything about your dress in the meantime." He noticed her warm brown eyes narrowing on him in confusion. "A warming charm or even a drying charm at this point would make your dress shrink, and I imagine it's tight enough for you. Am I correct?" She nodded slowly. "Then, logically, you should change out of that dress, Sinistra." He pointed to his bathroom. "Go. Warm up. I'll have one of the house elves leave fresh clothes out for you." He watched her gradually stand before she limped to where he had instructed._

_Once she had closed the door behind her and he could hear the shower running, he sighed, sitting down in his chair. His elbows dug into his legs as he held his head in his hands. Merlin. Didn't she already know that she was beautiful? That she didn't need to play dress up? The lengths he had seen her go to lately—he wondered if any man had ever truly told her how beautiful she was. He closed his eyes, groaning at the annoying voice that had become a constant companion to him now—saying that he could always tell her instead of continually sabotaging her dates._

_He winced at the 'sabotage.' While it was unfortunately true that he had been the reason most—if not all—of her dates were disastrous, he didn't like the reminder. He had started his interference with her dates as a means to entertain himself, to get her back for all the times she had annoyed him greatly. Watching her come home entirely frustrated was rather amusing at first._

_Only his so-called entertainment quickly developed into something more. It became a way to ensure that she'd not be with any 'unworthy man' in his opinion. He'd find out whom she was to meet—being a double agent did have its perks after all—and observe her said potential suitor, looking for reasons why this suitor wasn't good enough for her. He never let her know he was doing this, of course. So, to her, every date that was disastrous was likely because of something_ **she** _did, not because he had intimidated the hell out of her date beforehand, had her date called away on phony business, locked him in a cupboard in the case of Date Number Six, or had sent him to the wrong restaurant like what had happened tonight with Kingsley Shacklebolt—a date that should've gone well by all means._

_He dug his palms into his eyes and growled quietly. He was being a first-class bastard to her, and he knew it. His fists came down, hitting the armrests. Somehow, over the course of secretly watching her leave for her dates, sometimes at her dates, and after them, he had fallen for her. His head fell back against the back of his chair when he heard the water shut off. She was going to kill him, and she'd be in her right to. But, Merlin above, no man but him was worthy of her. He just had to prove it somehow._


	7. Test of Character

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a dark chapter, I'll admit, but they're all broken in some way or another. I'd love to hear your thoughts at the end. Enjoy.

After Potions class, Hufflepuff was in the lead by twenty points over Ravenclaw. It was safe to assume by how the Ravenclaws as a whole looked that the Hufflepuff's lead was going to be short lived. Toby, however, smiled inwardly as he silently followed his grumbling classmates with the gleeful Hufflepuffs rushing towards the Defense classroom. His plan had worked beautifully. Now he'd wait.

He had found over his many years of teaching that competition was usually healthy. It definitely had brought a new spark to the students' eyes, one that they all needed this year. Too many of them looked lifeless and drained because of last year's dark events.

When he brushed up against someone, Toby raised his head and glanced to his right. He half-smiled at Celes who was smirking at him. She seemed better now for some strange reason. She had lost her sickly pallor from earlier. He didn't know how to explain it, but his wife was an enigma nowadays.

Upon entering the Defense classroom, Toby and the other students instantly stopped. A large wall had been erected and provided them only with enough room for the class to stand in. The classroom door shut after the last student entered and plunged them into sudden darkness. It took several moments before their eyes had adjusted enough to make out shapes in the soft dim light.

"Welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts," shouted a man from behind the large stone wall.

Toby frowned, glancing at Celes. This certainly was an interesting way to start class. If he had done this when he taught his year of Defense, all of the students would likely have died of fright. As it was, all of the students were huddled closely together and wore looks of clear nervousness.

"When I call your name, you will step forward to the wall and step through it to complete a series of challenges that I've set up for today. At the end of class, the two students who complete the course most efficiently and most logically will receive a prize," explained the mysterious and unknown Defense professor. "Mister Lark, you're first."

Glancing towards the young man, Toby watched Anthony gulp, step through the wall, and disappear. Toby's frown deepened. The students' nerves were already frayed horribly from the horrors they witnessed during the Battle of Hogwarts. These challenges likely were going to make it worse.

At the feel of Celes grabbing his hand, Toby glanced at her. He could see her face becoming paler again and knew it was a result of not knowing what lay ahead on the other side of that wall. He gave her a quick reassuring squeeze of their conjoined hands, hoping it'd give her strength and peace. He heard no noise from the other side of the wall. Just utter silence as they all waited, watching their classmates pass through the wall and disappear.

"Miss Martins," called out their professor.

Toby heard Celes gasp beside him. He gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. She'd be fine. Whatever it was that was on the other side, she'd be fine. After all, it was Defense class. Oh, whom was he kidding? Hogwarts was a goddamn death trap.

For a brief moment, Toby entertained the idea of kissing her, but instead he chose to send his love to her through their mental link. A moment later, he blocked the link so he couldn't hear or feel her. The Final Battle had taught him how frustratingly hard it was to hear her cries in his mind while he was separated from her, unable to help. This would be just as frustrating and difficult as that just because of the mental anguish they all felt.

When she let go of Toby's hand, he drew in a slow breath. He silently watched Celes step up to the wall, glance back at him for a moment, and walk through. He waited and did his best to ignore his gut clenching in concern.

"I wish Snape was here," quietly stated the remaining Hufflepuff.

"Me too," agreed the other Ravenclaw. "At least then the most we'd have to deal with his him snapping at us about how stupid we are." Her name was called then.

Toby kept his eyes trained on the wall, watching the Ravenclaw girl pass through and then after several minutes as the Hufflepuff boy did the same. He was last. He drew in several calming breaths, knowing that whatever it was he'd face on the other side would require a clear mind. He couldn't help but draw the parallel of his standing in the Shrieking Shack with the Dark Lord last May. Would he find himself failing again? On the precipice of death, metaphorical it would seem in this case?

He shook his head to rid himself of that question. He hadn't failed. Potter lived. The Dark Lord was defeated. The world once more was saved. The words sounded hollow in his mind, though.

Sure, Potter was alive, but the boy's—no, the man's—spirit was broken. Then again, all of them were now left to pick up the pieces that once were their lives. Some had bigger pieces to pick up than others. He closed his eyes. His thoughts weren't helping.

"Mister Brooks," called out the Defense professor from the other side of the wall.

Toby drew in another breath to force himself to remain calm. He then took a step forward and passed through the wall. His eyes quickly adjusted to the difference in lighting again. With his true ebony wand in hand, he glanced around the magicked fog to gain his bearings. He then headed forward, his eyes darting around the room as he continued down the path.

A jet of light suddenly flew towards him, causing Toby to roll forward on the ground to avoid the curse. The moment he stood up to continue, he found a dozen Disarming Charms headed for him. He rushed forward, ducking and weaving. One spell hit him from behind and sent him flying through the air. He groaned when he hit the floor. However, he quickly picked himself back up. There was no time to waste. He threw up a series of shields to block the charms and just sprinted down the path. He kept going until he was forced to stop by walls suddenly rising and cutting him off.

"Damn," he hissed, banging his hand against the wall.

Hearing a noise behind him, Toby whirled around. There on the floor was a simple box. He frowned and kept his wand trained on it. The box rattled once more before a black mist filtered out of the top. Had to be a Boggart then, he decided.

He watched it shift and waited for the Boggart to settle on his worst fear. For so long it had been Lily dead and her just staring at him with that accusing look on her face. However, he knew that his Boggart had changed. He had come to terms with Lily's death, thanks to Aurora's help over the years. He eventually had forgiven himself for revealing the half-heard prophecy to the Dark Lord that led to Lily's death. When he had nearly died in the Shrieking Shack, he had definitely forgiven himself without a doubt then.

The Boggart finally settled on an image of his fear. He felt his heart stop for half a moment as he stared at Boggart Aurora. She wasn't dead, nor was she bruised and bloodied. Instead, she stood in front of him with her wand in hand. Her usual warmth and happiness was gone. In its place was coldness and indifference. He recalled that same look on her face a few months back and resisted the urge to shiver.

" _Riddikulus_ ," he cast, flicking his wand at the Boggart. He snorted at the sight of her covered only by whipped cream with a cherry balanced on her nose as if she was a sundae. The wall dropped and allowed him to continue, then. He did so, walking briskly down the path.

Once more, walls rose to cut him off after a few moments of continuing forward. He frowned, but glanced around. The lit torch that gave him a bit of light started to flicker as if it was a strobe light. His eyes darted about the room, assuming that some creature or object would attack him soon.

As expected, he wasn't wrong with that assumption. Something slashed his wand hand and caused him to drop his wand. Arms then wrapped around his midsection as someone grabbed him from behind. Toby struggled against his attacker for half a moment before throwing his head back to connect with the person's face. He heard the groan behind him and felt his attacker release him. He whirled around, summoning his wand wordlessly. However, his attacker was gone, and the walls were lowering. His brows knit in confusion, but he quickly continued down the path to find himself reaching his classmates. He took a step back when Celes launched herself at him and embraced him tightly. Their surroundings suddenly vanished and returned to the usual Defense classroom, complete with desks now.

"Very good. All of you," announced their Defense professor, who finally revealed himself to the class. Toby felt Celes's heartbeat skip with his at the sight of the approaching salt-and-pepper haired man who was wiping blood away from his lips. "I apologize for not being there to greet all of you earlier by the door, but it was important that you didn't know who I am until this moment." The man smiled faintly, his warm chocolaty brown eyes sparkling slightly in the soft amber light.

Toby drew in forced slow breaths as he projected calmness. He didn't know what to think about this revelation. Did that mean that—? He stopped that line of thought. He'd just have to wait and see.

"You're likely wondering what the point of this exercise was. Correct?" There were a few murmurs of 'Yes.' "After what occurred last term here at Hogwarts, you may feel despair, anger, grief, shock, hopelessness, and just plain broken now. Some of you might even feel some form of guilt because you survived whereas some of your classmates didn't."

Toby noticed several students glance down at the floor immediately. He reached for Celes and grabbed her hand once more. He could breathe easier knowing that she was beside him, safe.

"It's normal to feel all of that and more." The man sighed. "All of you had your innocence taken from you. You were forced to grow up, become men and women in a matter of minutes, in order to survive. I want each of you to know this, though." His eyes rested on each student for half a second before he moved onto the next student. "You are not alone."

Toby closed his eyes, hearing several students around him fight back their tears at the assertion. They weren't alone. He and Celes knew that because they were mature enough to understand that one needed to rely on another, seek help when one felt lost and hopeless. Though, he and Celes weren't always yielding to let others help, he amended. These students who truly were fifteen or sixteen didn't have that luxury of maturity. Their minds were trying to make sense of everything still. For some of them, he guessed, it was the first time they had experienced death firsthand. They were scared and unable to comprehend the evilness they had witnessed.

"You will move past this darkness. Your teachers here—our doors are always open for you. No matter the time, we will listen and we will help you move past this. We are all hurting with you. So, like that ratty old Sorting Hat says, this year we must put aside our differences and come together to heal as a school. We must be one. If we see one of our friends having a difficult time, we must help. We can do this either by talking with our friend or by telling an adult about them when we don't know how to help our friend." The man sighed, glancing at each of them again. "You survived. Now, it's time to move on slowly and heal your broken heart. Not by forgetting about your friends who died, of course, but by carrying on their memories and remembering them always by holding them dear to your heart. Love is the most powerful thing in the universe, class. Love will always conquer the darkness."

Toby noticed many of the girls had tears streaming down their cheeks. He closed his eyes again. It had been thought by Minerva he later learned that sending the underage students to Hogsmeade would keep them safe. However, it hadn't. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters had first attacked Hogsmeade before they reached Hogwarts and continued their bloody campaign of death and destruction.

"Love didn't conquer Voldemort, though," said one brave Hufflepuff boy.

"Of course it did, Mister Adams," replied the man kindly.

"How do you figure, sir?" a Ravenclaw asked.

"We've all heard the brave story of Lily and James Potter, who gave their lives for their son by standing up and fighting Voldemort in their Godric's Hollow home. However, that was only one act of love in a long line of acts by others that followed. For example, Severus Snape."

Toby barely kept himself from flinching at the sound of his real name. What was the man going to reveal about him? He waited on edge for the man to continue.

"He swore to protect Harry over the years at great risk to himself."

There was no mention of his love for Lily. To that, Toby was quite thankful.

"Albus Dumbledore, who didn't stop fighting for what was right and who saved Severus from certain death as well."

Toby felt a chill rush down his spine at that. He blinked several times to keep the memories of lying in the pool of his own blood at bay. He could recall Dumbledore's look of remorse as the man tried to heal the deep puncture marks to his neck.

"Molly Weasley, who protected her surviving children from a raving lunatic."

She hadn't been able to save Ginny, though. If only the stupid girl hadn't moved, she'd have been fine then. Of course, it was easy to say now in hindsight.

"Narcissa Malfoy, who lied to Voldemort about Harry's supposed death. And above all, Harry Potter himself. He walked into the forest alone and faced Voldemort with no way of knowing if his plan would succeed or not, if he'd live or not. He did this not only because it was the right thing to do, but because he had a weapon that Voldemort couldn't understand therefore couldn't block—love."

Toby waited for one of the students to argue that the Dark Lord had been defeated by a well-placed _Expelliarmus_ or even a mention about the Elder wand, but no student did. He snorted silently at this. Love may have been a catalyst, but the Elder wand belonging to Harry was the main reason the Dark Lord had been defeated. In the words of Minerva, Harry had sheer dumb luck.

"Over the course of this year, we're going to work together as a family in this class. There will be no points awarded for practical demonstrations like the one we did today. You will earn your house points by the essays you write. However, I will be perfectly honest with you. My goal is to help you heal and move on, not award house points." Several students nodded slowly. "Our practical sessions from now on will be you working with a partner to complete a series of objectives. Your partner will be someone you rely on for anything, a friend and a comrade. We will celebrate each victory together. We will learn from each mistake made and support each other after them. We will move on from this."

At the sound of the bell ringing, the students as a whole glanced at the door. However, none of them moved to leave. One of them, in fact, cleared his throat.

"Sir? You haven't told us your name yet," Anthony Lark stated as the other students looked on curiously. That was all except Toby and Celes, who already knew the man's name.

The man laughed softly and nodded once. "Quite right, Mister Lark. I haven't." His eyes twinkled for a second. "I'm Orin Sinistra. You may call me Mr. Sinistra, however." The class instantly started whispering intently with one another after hearing the man's name.

"Um, sir? Are you related to Professor Aurora Sinistra?" asked a Hufflepuff girl.

"She's my daughter," he replied with a curt nod.

"Will you tell her that we miss her and hope she's all right?" another student asked.

"Of course I will, Miss Snow. I have a feeling that she knows already, though." Orin smiled faintly. "Now, go on. Off to lunch. Mister Brooks and Miss Martins, I would like you to remain behind for a moment, though. To talk about your prize."

The class quickly filtered out, chatting energetically amongst themselves. Toby and Celes waited calmly as the other students left.

"Follow me, please," Orin said, motioning them up to his office. He held the door open and closed it when they entered soon after. "Is there anything I can get for either of you?"

"No, sir," Celes replied softly.

"I'm fine."

Orin laughed softly. "So, who wants to explain?" He half-smiled when Celes glanced at Toby in confusion. "I may be old, baby girl, but I'm not senile yet. Though, I'll give you credit. You've both done well at disguising yourselves, but a father can always identify his daughter. So, what's going on?"

"It's for a class I took over the summer." She sighed, crossing her arms.

Toby noticed Orin's eyes narrow on her for a moment. However, his father-in-law remained silent. He supposed it was going to come after she left them alone for a moment.

"Are you planning on ruining this now, Dad?"

"No."

"Good." She turned away to glance out the window.

"And here I thought I was past these years," Orin remarked with a snort.

"Are we to assume that you're here to keep an eye on us?" Toby asked softly.

"No. Albus thought it'd be good if someone who went through this after-war stuff before taught Defense this year. Course I didn't actually show up until last night, though." Orin shrugged. "Your dad's worried about you two, as am I."

"We're fine," Celes snapped.

Toby watched Orin force his smile. He frowned, sighing inwardly. If he had a Time Turner, he'd use it in an instant. She wasn't like this. This was not the woman he had fallen in love with.

"I would like both of you to meet me in the Entrance Hall at seven on Friday night."

"Fine. Whatever," she said snottily before turning around and heading out of the office.

Toby sighed. He hated when she acted like this. "I'll keep an eye on her, Orin."

"I know you will, son." Orin sighed. "Your dad's in Hogsmeade now. He wants to see you."

"All right. I'll try to go over there in a bit." Toby shook his head. "I wish I could take her pain."

"She has to come to terms with this her own way. We just need to support her and be there."

He nodded slowly to Orin before he inclined his head and left silently.

* * *

Several hours later, Toby headed to the Ravenclaw tower with Celes by his side. She had been quiet since learning her father had taken the Defense post. However, he knew that was solely because she was trying to keep herself distracted. She clearly seemed unsettled with her father in the castle now. He assumed that was a result of her thinking that her father would force her to confront her pain.

Would his father do the same if Toby met him in Hogsmeade? Probably, he decided a moment later. Tobias was a bit of a straight shooter. He frowned. He had thought about talking to his father, but he never actually got around doing it.

"You're hurting me!" a young witch above them shouted loudly. "Stop it! Let go!"

Toby's head came up suddenly as his eyes darted to the sound of the witch in distress. He frowned instantly when he saw Weasley—Ron that was—yanking Granger towards an alcove. He quickly rushed up the stairs after them. He didn't like the look Weasley had on his face.

"Shut it or I'll—" Weasley snarled as Granger cried out again.

"Or you'll what, Weasley?" Toby hissed, gaining their attention instantly. He could see the familiar fear on the young witch's face. It was unfortunately similar to the look he had seen on Aurora's face once. He resisted the overwhelming urge to shudder at that realization.

"Sticking your nose in things it doesn't belong tends to get a person killed. Or haven't you heard that, git?" Weasley reluctantly released the young witch's arm. "Now, be a good Ravenclaw, and get the hell out of here before—"

"Ron! Stop it!" Granger yelled. She cried out in half-shock and half-fright when Weasley backhanded her a moment later.

Toby instantly grabbed a hold of the other boy, slamming him up against the wall with his ebony wand pressed deep into Weasley's throat. Anger with himself bubbled up inside Toby.

"Celes, take her away from here," Toby instructed, knowing that Celes was still there. He waited until he heard two retreating footsteps before he lowered his wand slightly. "Listen here, Weasley. If I ever catch you laying a hand on her or any other young lady again, I'll report you to the Aurors for assault and battery. Is that understood?" He growled when Weasley spit in his face a moment later.

"Go—"

Toby's fist connecting with Weasley's mouth finished that sentence instantly. However, Weasley clearly had something left in him, since he came out swinging back at Toby. The two boys then brawled in the entryway to the fifth floor, slamming into suits of armor and knocking them over.

"Enough!" shouted McGonagall several moments later, finally appearing. A spell quickly separated them. "Misters Weasley and Brooks, my office. NOW!" The two boys glared at one another but headed off in that direction. Once they arrived, she slammed her door shut behind them. "I suggest one of you starts speaking," she snapped, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she waited.

"He attacked me, Professor," Weasley started to lie. "I was with Hermione, and he just came out of nowhere and started to—"

"After he had struck Granger and was dragging her through the castle," Toby growled, clenching his jaw to keep his temper back.

"What?" McGonagall's eyes darted to the bruised Weasley. "Is this true, Mister Weasley? Did you strike Miss Granger?"

"Of course not, Professor. I love Hermione."

Toby's eyes narrowed instantly. The way Weasley had said that—it was clearly rehearsed. Which begged the question: Had the boy struck her before?

"Professor McGonagall, I suggest she be examined by Madam Pomfrey," Toby requested.

"You goddamn—"

"Mister Weasley, I would hold my tongue if I were you!" McGonagall snapped. She stared at Toby for a few short moments. He knew what she was thinking. If it was found that Granger was being abused by him, there would be an inquiry that would further hurt the Weasley family. However, he knew she couldn't live with herself if she did nothing.

"Very well. Mister Brooks, return to your common room." Toby quickly headed for the door, hearing her say as he shut it behind him, "Mister Weasley, you will remain here until I return."

Toby, however, didn't stick around to make sure that Weasley did stay. He quickly set off to find Celes and Granger. He skidded to a stop several minutes later when he saw Harry step into his path.

"They're in the courtyard," the young green-eyed man stated.

"How do you know?" Toby frowned when Harry held up a familiar object. Just a spare bit of parchment his arse. "What's that?"

"The Marauders' Map. I used it to find you so we could talk." Harry sighed, shifting his weight slightly. "About last year."

"I wasn't here last year, though." He caught Harry mouthing _Muffliato_ and drew in a breath.

"I know, Snape. The map showed me."

"How grand," Toby replied bitterly. Did anyone not know at this point? Honestly. Her entire project rested on the staff and students not knowing. Yet, four of them already knew when Pomfrey was supposed to be the only one who did.

"We were there, you know? When they died, I mean. We watched both deaths. He's been taking it hard, losing them. He thought—we all thought—that Fred was going to die as well. He doesn't—he's not like this. He just doesn't know how to handle it. All the emotions in him right now. So he lashes out. Hermione and I have been trying to keep him calm, but sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes we can't get him to come back to himself. So, things happen."

"He's hit her before, then?" Harry didn't need to answer him. He already knew the answer to that. He frowned as he stared at the silent young man. "Take it from me, Potter. He needs someone to help him control his emotions." He grimaced as he thought of himself for a brief moment. "You and Granger protecting him all this while will only make the situation worse."

"He loves her, Snape."

"And I love my wife, yet I still lost my temper with her once and hit her." He caught Harry's confusion instantly, but brushed it off. That was a story for another time. "Weasley needs help. And as long as he's not getting it, he should be nowhere near Granger or you for that matter. Unless you want to be beaten by your friend?" he remarked coldly before striding away to the courtyard.


	8. Couples Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus and Aurora have a long overdue conversation after hearing another couple's conversation.

Toby slowly walked towards the courtyard to the two young women sitting on a bench together. He frowned as he approached, noticing the red mark on Granger's cheek. She deserved better than that.

"Hey, it'll be okay. It will," Celes whispered, giving Granger a sideways hug.

"You don't understand," Granger sniffled.

Toby slowed, hanging back in the shadows. Maybe his walking in there wouldn't be the wisest thing. They seemed to be having some sort of girl talk. He shifted his weight slightly. He could wait he supposed. After all, he could still see them, so he knew that Celes was safe as was Granger.

"He's not usually like this. I swear. He loves me. He does. He wouldn't ever hurt me. Just, just sometimes he can't . . . he loves me, though. You have to believe me. He does. He loves me."

"Sweetheart, stop."

"Please. Please believe me. He loves me. He didn't hurt me. I-I should have just done—"

"Stop. You did nothing to deserve that."

"No. I-I did. I had to. I knew he'd get angry. I should have just done what he said. I shouldn't have fought. I—you don't understand."

"I understand better than you think." Celes held Granger's chin so they'd be looking at one another. "I had a boyfriend like him once."

Toby flinched, knowing it was a lie. It hadn't been a boyfriend. It had been her husband, the man whom she was supposed to count on—him. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the stone wall.

"Really?" Granger whispered.

"Yeah. I was like you. I made excuses for him. I thought I truly did deserve it when he hit me, you know? I thought if I had just given in, he wouldn't have lost control and hurt me. It's a lie we tell ourselves, though. Because we're trying to convince ourselves that the person we love wouldn't ever hurt us. Tell ourselves that everything is still perfect. Persuade ourselves into believing that we didn't make a mistake by offering our hearts to them in the first place."

"Ron loves me. He's just going through a rough time. He lost his brother and sister in the war last May." Granger wiped the tears from her eyes. "He just doesn't know how to cope now. So, I need to be supportive, don't I? Isn't that what I'm supposed to do now since he lost them?"

"There's a difference between being supportive and letting him hurt you." Celes sighed. "Come on. I've heard the stories from the other girls. You're a smart woman. You know deep down that what's going on isn't right. Just, you know, take some time away from him. Keep yourself safe."

"Did you?"

"I dumped his arse finally after he nearly strangled me."

Another set of lies she told. Thankfully, he never tried to strangle her. His only crime against her was hitting her once. But it was no light thing he knew. In his mind, it was just as bad as if he _had_ tried to strangle her. He squeezed his eyes more to block out everything. It wasn't good enough, though. The memories bubbled over and took control.

" _Severus, please."_

" _No! Just drop it," he growled, glaring at her as he clenched and unclenched his hand._

" _We need to talk about this, though. You heard Madam Pomfrey. It's important that we do."_

" _Drop it. Now, Sinistra!"_

" _Severus, you can't keep—" His hand connected with the side of her face, her head snapping back a moment later from the hard blow._

_With his teeth bared, he glared murderously at her. Why couldn't she just leave things be like he asked her to do? Why did she always have to impose herself into everything? He growled to snarl those very words at her, but stopped when he realized what he did. He blinked a few times. No. He wasn't like that. However, as he watched her cheek redden, he felt his stomach drop. What had he done?_

" _Aurora." He stepped towards her and quickly noticed her instinctive flinch. After claiming for years he was a better man, that he wasn't a monster, this happened and proved that he wasn't._

" _No. It's, um, it's okay. It's fine." She forced a smile, fear in her eyes. "I'll drop it. I, um, I should go, though. I'll see you, uh, later, I guess." She turned and quickly left the room._

_He stared for minutes at the empty spot where she had stood. What had he done?_

"You want me to stay with you?" Celes asked. "Just in case he comes back, I mean?"

"That won't be necessary," suddenly announced someone. "I'll watch over her."

Toby's eyes flew open and darted to both young witches. With a curious look, he observed the approaching blond Slytherin seventh-year. Draco Malfoy? What on earth was the boy doing out here?

"Draco?" Granger whispered, glancing at the blond.

"Granger," replied the Slytherin just as quiet as she had. "Are you all right?"

Toby's eyes narrowed as he glanced between the Slytherin and Gryffindor. He was missing something, it'd seem. He hadn't been aware that they were on speaking terms, much less friendly ones at that. He noticed that Celes seemed just as surprised as he was.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Course I am. I was just sitting out here with, um, her. Enjoying the sun."

"He hit you again, didn't he?" Draco asked softly. "I don't understand why you stay with him. Didn't take you to be a fool like that."

The witch instantly came up off the bench, glaring at the blond. "You don't get to judge him, Malfoy. Not after what you did the other night!"

"He deserved it! And you know that deep down! I should've just thrown that piece of rubbish off the stairs for what he did to you!"

"No!" the Muggleborn witch screamed, visibly shaking. "I love him! Why can't you understand that? I love HIM!"

"Oh, yeah? Then, why'd you kiss me the other night? Huh?" Draco retorted, crossing his arms as he held her eyes.

Toby glanced at Celes instantly. Malfoy and Granger? _What_? He blinked a few times. He supposed it could make some sense. Granger likely was confused with all that was going on with Weasley. But clearly there was more to the story than met the eye.

"That was a mistake. A moment of weakness."

"No. It wasn't. And you know it. I don't care what it takes to prove to you that you should be with me instead." He shook his head. "The war's over. Our parts are done. We can stop acting now."

"I moved on."

"Like hell you did."

"I don't love you."

"Yeah, and right now I don't particularly love you either," Draco grumbled.

"I hate you."

"So you say."

"I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last person alive, Malfoy."

Draco pulled Hermione against him before he raised a hand and lightly brushed back a stray strand of her hair. The young woman instantly turned into his hand as a shudder ran down her body.

"I hate you," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Like I keep saying, so you say," Draco replied with a snort. "I get this loyalty you have to him. I do. But he's not right for you, Hermione. And not just because he's hurting you now."

"Draco," she pleaded as Celes and Toby looked on in confusion.

"He hasn't been loyal to you from the start. Ask the other girls. They'll back me up on that. He doesn't understand you like I do either. Please. I'm not asking that we jump into this now. I'll wait until you're ready, but just stop being loyal to someone who keeps hurting you time after time."

"I love him."

"You loved me first until I hurt you and called you that stupid name. We both know that. I may not have shown it around the others, but you knew it was me that sent you those notes over the years, those gifts. We both know you figured it out. Hermione, please. You deserve so much more than him. And it just tears me up, knowing you're staying with him out of loyalty when he's never shown an ounce of it to you in return."

Toby's eyes narrowed, but darted to Celes when she suddenly grabbed his arm. He frowned as she quickly pulled him away from the couple. What in the world just happened? When had Granger and Malfoy become so close to one another? Merlin, he was confused.

Pulling his arm back from her, Toby gave her a thin smile and a quick nod so she knew that he'd follow. She, however, quickly grabbed his hand. He forced himself not to react to the action, knowing that she likely needed it with all the troubling thoughts being brought up once more.

When he noticed the brass knocker up ahead, Toby glanced at her. Did she want to spend the night with him again? He didn't ask, though. Instead, he continued towards the door, his brows furrowing when it opened a moment later without asking him to answer the daily riddle. They walked in soon after, heading through the once again empty common room. Upon entering his rooms, he quickly closed the door behind them and warded it.

He watched her slowly walk to his bed and sit down on the edge. He sighed, unsure of what to say or what to do for her. He never was good in these situations.

"Aurora?" he said softly to gain her attention.

"Celes," she corrected quietly. "Remember?"

"Celes," he repeated. "What can I do?" He noticed her confusion instantly. "To help you," he clarified a moment later.

"I'm fine."

He sighed, slowly heading to her before kneeling in front of her. "You would tell me that if you had been tortured for days on end, and I still would know it was a lie. Please. Tell me what I can do to help you. Tell me how to make it better."

"Everything's fine. Nothing's wrong."

He shook his head. "I don't believe that, because I know in my heart that it's not. I hurt you just like Weasley hurt her." He exhaled loudly, catching her eyes narrow on him. "We never talked about that day. We just brushed it off like it never happened."

"Because there wasn't a reason to talk about it," she answered with a shrug.

"There was. I hurt you."

"You slapped me once."

"Once was one too many," he stated, holding her hands in his. "I'm sorry. I should have told you that the next day when I saw you. I wanted to, but I was afraid that I'd hurt you again so I said nothing. I should have kept telling you how sorry I was every single day."

"Toby—"

"No. Let me finish. Please." He paused for a moment as he thought what to say next. "You were right with Granger earlier. You didn't deserve a slap for merely caring about my wellbeing. You were doing the right thing that day. I needed to talk to someone and get everything I was feeling out. I should have listened to you instead of reacting as I did. You did nothing wrong. _I_ did."

"It's done and over with. We've moved past that."

"No we didn't. We just brushed it aside and hoped it went away on its own. I didn't forget about that day, and I know you didn't either." He squeezed her hands gently. "You had every right to leave. Hell, you _should_ have left me after that and protected yourself."

"Toby, stop it," she snapped. "You're not a monster."

"I lost my temper and slapped you as a result."

"Yeah, you did. So what?" She shook her head. "You lost control for a split second and made a bad decision. But you realized what you did seconds afterward and tried to make it right." She exhaled loudly. "You always condemn yourself after committing one mistake, even when you bend over backwards to make it right soon after. Give yourself a break. It's not the end of the world."

"I slapped you, Celes. I left a mark on your cheek, in fact," he argued. "From where I stand, that is the end of the world, because I'm your husband, the one man who shouldn't _ever_ hurt you."

"And that right there is the difference between our situation and theirs. You knew it was wrong the second after you did it. Yeah, sure, you didn't apologize, and we both sort of swept it under the rug so to speak. But you went to Pomfrey afterwards and spoke with her. You forced yourself to go to your sessions and talk to her so that wouldn't happen again, pushing aside your stubbornness. You made a mistake, and you fixed it soon after. There's no need to continue to punish yourself any longer."

"Stop letting me off the hook."

"No. I won't. Quite frankly, in your mind, anytime you display some form of humanity and make a mistake, you automatically believe it to be some catastrophic event that will cause the world to explode or something. You made an error in judgment, and you owned up to it. Hell, you took full responsibility for your actions that day and told Pomfrey what happened, had her fill out a report and everything. You have more than made up for that mistake. You don't need to keep punishing yourself for something that I've already forgiven you over."

He stared at her for several moments in utter silence. It still was always a shock to hear her state that she had forgiven him once more. He couldn't help but think of all the times over the years when he had made a mistake, and others in his life hadn't been so kind. In fact, he was convinced that he was just one mistake away from her leaving him. One day he would reach that secret number where she would no longer be able to stand him and would cast him aside just as Lily had done. He was certain of that. Today did not seem to be that day, however.

"Thank you."

"Oh, Toby, these are the times when I want to hit _you_ ," she said exasperatedly. "Stop thinking that I'm going to leave you at a drop of a hat for making a mistake. It frankly pisses me off, because it's as if no matter what I do in the meantime to convince you otherwise you will always believe I'm lying."

"No," he argued.

"Yes," she stressed. "When you get like this, you show me that you don't believe me. That you're always waiting for me to get tired of you and leave. And that upsets me more than anything, because it's as if you think that I'm like all the other bitches in your life instead of the woman who loves you. Do you understand? I'm not going to give up on you for making a mistake. I don't know how else to get that through your thick skull. I'm not leaving unless you prove me wrong about you. Got it?"

"Yes," he sighed, hanging his head.

"We are not Ron and Hermione. If anything, we're more like Draco and Hermione." He felt the tug at his lips immediately and glanced at her. "What? We certainly kept our relationship hidden from all and acted our specific parts like them over the years. I surely didn't know about them, and you didn't seem to either." She leaned forward, kissing the top of his head. "Plus, they're a cute couple like us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll definitely revisit the Draco/Hermione relationship that I introduced here and explain more in upcoming chapters. It is most definitely not the last time we'll see them. As always, I love to hear your thoughts.


	9. Purpose

Toby silently walked through the opened doors to the hospital wing. Therapy. He caught several students' looks when he walked past, but he said nothing to them. What was to say after all? He knocked against Pomfrey's office door and waited, shifting his weight slightly.

The door opened a moment later to reveal Harry standing on the other side. Toby forced himself not to react when he saw the Gryffindor. They stared at one another, eye-to-eye, before Harry silently walked past him and left the hospital wing.

"Well, you're early tonight, Mr. Brooks," Madam Pomfrey cheerfully stated. "Come in."

Shutting the door behind him, he walked to his usual chair and sat down. He watched her finish writing something down and waited as patiently as he could. She pushed the parchment away a moment later with a faint smile.

"So, how have you been doing this week, Severus?"

He shrugged. "As well as to be expected, I suppose."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I haven't hurt anyone, lost my temper, had any suicidal thoughts, or anything else of the like this past week," he stated coldly. "Not to mention that I'm alive. Something that I would not have thought possible had I been asked a year ago." He then folded his hands neatly in his lap. "In other words, you could say I'm just _peachy_ , Madam."

"I see." She sighed, writing something. "And your assignment? Were you successful with it?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"What would you like me to say exactly?" he replied with clenched teeth, feeling his anger rise once again. "That I exploded into my hand?"

"Did you?"

He growled, glancing upwards at the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't have come today. "Yes."

"That's a good sign, Severus."

"I'll be sure to inform my wife of that when she wishes to be intimate with me," he snidely responded. His mood was getting worse with each moment he was there.

"It unsettles you, doesn't it? That Harry knows about you now?"

He felt slightly off-kilter with her question. "What?"

"You seemed to be in a good mood before you saw him."

"I don't have good moods."

She sighed. "Fine. You're right. However, you seemed less irritated before you saw him."

He sighed, the anger leaving him quickly now. "He wishes for answers that I don't have."

"I would imagine he's not the only one."

"What do you mean?" He frowned, glancing at her.

"There was an Auror here earlier wishing to speak with you."

"Concerning?"

"Likely wanting to know how you and Albus pulled it off, I would imagine. You two had convinced the entire world that he was dead."

"Then, they should merely ask the headmaster."

"He was here as well, you know? Albus?"

"Oh?" He felt like leaning his head back in his chair. "And what did he want?"

"To know how you were. Since he was Obliviated to ensure Aurora's success, he truly believes that you are on extended medical leave. He's worried about you."

"How lovely."

"Orin is as well. More so about Aurora of course."

"I'm quite well, Madam, as you can see."

"What about the other night with Mr. Weasley? How were you after that?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you processing that?" She sighed when he didn't say anything. "I admit that I've heard from others that you and he brawled. I'm merely wondering about how you're doing now as a result of the various issues it brought up."

"I'm fine." He shrugged. "Aurora and I spoke about it at lengths the other night."

"Oh?"

"I finally apologized for my actions that night. She, of course, let me off the hook once more."

"That's a good step, though."

"Indeed."

"And how did it feel dealing with that?"

He sighed, thinking for a moment. "Better, I suppose. We had been pushing it aside for months. I had thought I could perhaps use it to get her to speak with me, but I had no such luck."

"Give her time."

"Has she spoken with you, though?" he asked, glancing at her. "I mean, I understand there's doctor-patient privilege there. But I thought she perhaps was like me and waiving it so we'd know about each other's sessions."

"She agreed to the sharing as we do with you. However, I'm afraid there's nothing I can tell you. She barely speaks during our sessions. She wants to, though, but I believe she's still holding back to protect herself and likely to remain strong for you."

"There's no need for her to do that, though."

"Perhaps, but the mind is a powerful thing."

He sighed, fiddling with his hands slightly as he glanced down at the floor. "Did you examine her at all, physically I mean?"

"I hadn't yet. Why?" She leaned forward. "Do you believe she's hiding injuries again?"

"No." He shook his head. "She's been ill the past week. It's off and on, but it's causing her to miss many of her classes."

"I see. Well, perhaps she caught a bug. There are a few of those going around. When did you first notice it?"

"Wednesday, I suppose. I'm not certain. She had seemed fine when we woke up together, but a few of her housemates stated that she was sick before she came to Potions."

"When _we_ woke up together?" the matron repeated quietly. "She's been staying in your dorm room nightly, I take it?"

"Yes. Except for the first night."

"I see. Are you two being intimate with one another again, then?"

"No. It's not like that. I just hold her while she sleeps." He noticed her faint smile.

"I was merely asking. You know as well as I that sometimes hormones and adolescents don't always mix well with sleepovers."

He felt his cheeks redden slightly. "We've snogged a few times," he admitted quietly, "but we stop before we go too far."

"Aurora accepts this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You stated before that sometimes when you tell her no when she's in an amorous mood, she gets rather upset with you."

"She doesn't really seem to be interested in that anymore, I guess." He shrugged slightly, glancing down at his hands again as he rubbed his ring finger.

"Severus?"

"Yes?" He glanced at her instantly.

"What do you think Aurora is ill with?"

"I haven't a clue."

"I believe you rubbing your finger like that shows you do, Severus. Tell me."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had a possibility in his mind, but it wasn't one he wanted to share of course. So, he remained silent and just stared at the matron.

"You think she's pregnant, don't you? And you're worried."

"As I said, I haven't a clue."

"I think you do, and I think it's perfectly natural to be worried."

"Is it?" He stood up and paced in front of her window. "I wasn't like this when we thought she was pregnant the first time. I was calm and collected."

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "You've both been through traumatic events this past year. There are bound to be worries about this, and they're all perfectly natural."

"I've asked her to come see you. To find out what's wrong. She refuses."

"Likely because, like you, she thinks pregnancy could be a possibility."

"We're not ready for it. We're still healing."

"I know."

"A pregnancy now would be the worst thing, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps. It's not usually recommended, of course, but it typically happens after miscarriages." She gave him an apologetic look. "In fact, I was sort of expecting it to occur with you and Aurora."

"Why?"

"I was there when she found out that she was finally pregnant after years of trying. I remember the looks on your faces, the happiness and joy. You two were ready to be parents." She sighed. "And we both know that this wasn't Aurora's first miscarriage. She frankly wants a child more than anything, and it continues to elude her. She would likely kill for one at this point."

"We're not ready now, though."

"You're both healing. You're just further along than she is. Am I saying it would be easy if she's pregnant now? No. It'll bring up a whole new set of issues we will have to work through. But it happens, Severus, and I know as long as she has you that she'll be fine."

He nodded slowly. He supposed that was true. He rubbed his ring unconsciously before he realized he was doing it again and stopped. Glancing at Madam Pomfrey, he noticed her watching him closely. He merely sighed. The slow dissection of his feelings was sure to continue.

* * *

A few hours later, Toby found himself walking past the statue guarding the Headmaster's office. He paused instantly when he heard the statue wordlessly move to the side without him having given the password. His eyes narrowed. Waiting for a few moments, he watched the staircase, expecting to see Dumbledore emerge. However, no one appeared.

"Strange," he said under his breath, moving to turn away. However, his curiosity won the better of him. He turned back and headed up the spiraled stairs to the heavy oak door. He knocked sharply, paused, and then pushed open the door to find the office empty.

"Ah, there you are, Headmaster," a nasally voice called out as Toby walked further into the room. The portrait of the late Phineas Nigellus chuckled as he stroked his short beard. "You've gotten younger, I see. Good for you."

"I'm sorry?" Toby replied, noticing all of the portraits of the late headmasters and headmistress eyeing him. He caught several of them inwardly smiling.

"Now, now, Severus. You may be cunning, my young Slytherin, but you can't fool us. We know all," Phineas stated with another soft chuckle.

He sighed instantly and hung his head. This was turning out to be the worst kept secret in the history of Hogwarts. He couldn't believe it.

"Does everyone know at this point?" he groaned, glancing at the late Slytherin headmaster.

"About you and my great-great granddaughter making yourselves younger?"

"No. About Sprout and Flitwick," he snidely replied. "Of course about Aurora and me."

"Well, there's no need to get snarky. I was merely asking a question." Phineas shrugged slightly. "We portraits know. The ghosts, too. Don't worry, though. We understand our orders. Our lips are sealed."

He groaned and closed his eyes. This was getting ridiculous now.

"It's not as if a headmaster can really hide from us after all," Phineas added quietly.

"I'm not the headmaster anymore. I resigned from that post."

"We remember. However, the castle and its inhabitants refused it."

"Impossible. The Board is the only one with the authority to accept or refuse. You're not them."

"Oh, honestly, boy," snapped a stern-looking witch from a few portraits down. "We can do whatever the hell we want. We're a part of Hogwarts now."

"I refuse the post." He turned to leave when the door to the office suddenly slammed shut. "What now? You're going to threaten me?"

"We can make your life hell, Severus Snape," a portrait stated.

"And don't think we won't either," another portrait called out.

"You see, we've decided," Phineas explained. " _You_ are our headmaster. Not Albus. Quite honestly, his time has passed as I'm sure you're aware. We need you."

"I refuse."

"Stubborn, but ultimately you will accept. We know it."

"I performed my duties as per Albus's request. Now, I'm done," he replied. "I don't know what this is all about, but I don't care. I'm content being the Defense professor. Understand?" He frowned when he heard several of the portraits whisper amongst themselves. "I don't want the bloody headmaster position. I did my part."

"Yes, but your part is not over with. We need you as headmaster."

"Unless you're all blind now being portraits, I'm currently fifteen. I can't help you."

"Actually, Headmaster, you can," argued Sir Nicholas kindly as he floated into the office. More familiar ghosts soon followed and floated about the room.

"How? What could I possibly do like this?"

"Hogwarts was poisoned by the events of last year," spoke the Gray Lady softly. She hovered close to the Bloody Baron. "Darkness descended upon her, took away everything that was good and tainted it with evilness."

"Yes, I'm aware. That's why there are trained Mind Healers here this year. To help the students." At the rattle of the Baron's chains, he glanced at the Slytherin ghost. "I can't help you."

"As Headmaster of Hogwarts, you are connected directly with the castle," explained the Baron. "As you heal, so does Hogwarts: the castle, the portraits, the ghosts, everything. We understand that you want to be left alone. That you want to enjoy your second chance."

"And that's fine by us," the Friar continued. "In fact, we're all quite happy to see you dashing about the castle with no responsibilities for once. It's refreshing to us."

"I don't understand."

"Death and destruction tore her apart," murmured the Gray Lady somberly.

"Life and love will mend her together," the Baron stated quietly.

"I'm not the man you need for this. Dumbledore—"

"No, Severus. He can't help us this time," Sir Nicholas sighed. "It has to be you."

"Hogwarts needs a leader who has had a second chance given to him. That's you. Not Dumbledore," the Friar shrugged.

"How do you expect me to mend a castle back together when I'm barely mending my own life back together after last May?"

"Your suspicions about Aurora are correct. We can sense the life in her."

He tensed instantly, feeling as if someone had punched him in the gut. He glanced at the portraits and the ghosts. They could sense things like that? Dumbledore had certainly left that detail out.

"Then, you understand that I have bigger things on my mind?"

"Yes." The portraits and other ghosts nodded with the Gray Lady. "We understand. However, after a phoenix burns and dies, a new life is born from its ashes."

He sighed, feeling a headache form behind his eyes. "So? What? You wish to celebrate her supposed pregnancy, then?" He heard their laughter instantly.

"Well, it has been quite some time since a headmaster or headmistress's child was born here. Several centuries at least." The ghosts and portraits smiled kindly. "You will restore Hogwarts to its state, better than ever, because frankly you are doing the same with yourself and Aurora currently. We believe in you, Severus. And we stand behind you. All of us."


	10. Painful Recollections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we see a flashback of May 2. As always, I love to hear your thoughts.

Toby sighed before he rolled over once again in his four-poster bed. For the life of him, he could not fall asleep. Celes had decided to spend the night in her dormitory much to his disappointment. Oh, how he wished he could sneak in there and talk to her. They _needed_ to talk. He had his pick of topics after all; what was going on with her, how she was feeling, what she needed from him in order to heal, why she was shutting him out now and so on. He even tried his sneaky Slytherin approach and used how she had won their little bet awhile back in the Potions classroom to get her to talk, but instead she brushed him off and he let her, not wanting to upset her. He sighed again and flopped over once more.

What would he say to her this time, though? That particular question had daunted him for hours now. He couldn't come right out and say "I think you're pregnant." She'd castrate him.

A sudden knock at his door made him glance towards it. He frowned, wondering who it could be. He grabbed his wand, casting a quick _Tempus_. Five in the morning. Lovely. He threw the covers off and got out of bed. Who could be knocking at this time of morning? He opened his door and narrowed his eyes instantly on the young Hufflepuff girl standing in front of him.

"What?" he gruffly said.

"Um, well, uh—"

"Spit it out," he snapped, watching her take a step back from him instantly.

"She-she won't stop screaming," stuttered the young girl, nearly in tears.

"Who won't?"

"Celes. We've tried everything. She's just—she won't stop. Please. Come quick!"

Snatching his school robes that earlier he had tossed haphazardly onto the floor, he threw them on over his boxers. He wasn't usually one to dress in just robes and boxers, but he did do so, even when he was Severus Snape and had his long teaching robes on, whenever he didn't have time to dress properly. Like today for example. He shoved his feet into his slippers, forgoing his trainers. They'd take too long to put on, and he frankly just didn't have time.

He quickly took off then towards the Hufflepuff common room. He barely slowed when he came to the portrait guarding the entrance in the basement. Briefly—like only spending a second to think 'interesting'—he noticed the portrait swing open and let him in without a password. No doubt, the castle was still regarding him as its headmaster like the others in the Headmaster's office had stated would happen. He heard the soft mumbling from the other Hufflepuffs gathered in the common room, but he rushed past them. He needed to get to Celes. His insides knotted as he heard her terrible screams. It would be last May all over again.

"Get out of the way, you silly girl," he snapped, pushing one of her housemates away from Celes's bedside. He half-knelt on her bed, quickly grabbing her hand and knitting their fingers together. Closing his eyes, he focused and breathed in deeply, doing his best to block out her fearful cries. He soon found himself in her night terror, seeing everything she was imagining currently in her mind—a replay of the events of May 2, he noted dryly a moment later.

_Aurora's tower shook violently from the blasts. She scrambled to her trapdoor and climbing down the ladder in order to reach safety. Swirling black robes suddenly were behind her. She was on her guard now, her wand in her hand. The long pale hand covered her mouth as an arm wrapped around her before the two Disapparated._

_When they reappeared in the middle of a familiar sitting room—the cottage's to be exact, her supposed attacker released her before the figure took a step back from her to reveal himself. It really was a wonder how they were still married._

" _Severus?!" Aurora hissed, growling a moment later before hitting the black-clad man's shoulder. "You bloody damn arse. I could have killed you! What the hell were you thinking?"_

_His older self, however, said nothing._

"I was thinking about how I could keep my family safe, Aurora," Toby replied quietly, still inside her mind and memory. His frown deepened when he saw Celes standing beside him, looking on silently. "I likely should have told you that it was me at the time."

"Might have helped," retorted Celes, stone-faced.

" _Answer me, Severus. What were you thinking?"_

" _Remain here" was the quiet reply before he Disapparated soon after._

" _Oh! You son of a bitch! Like hell I'll remain here, you bloody bat."_

"I should've stayed," Celes whispered.

"As should I have," Toby stated.

"It was my fault."

_As the memory skipped ahead, their surroundings blurred for a moment before the Headmaster's office came into clear view. Jets of light flew every which way as three figures, Aurora being one of them, dueled. Knickknacks on the desk burst when they were hit by a curse or a hex. Loud explosions rocked the room every now and then. Blood spattered the walls once or twice. However, the three continued. A proper duel to the death it seemed._

"No, love. It was all theirs." His dark eyes looked on in forced impassivity. It was the first time he had seen the memory of how she had lost their child. A part of him wanted to pull her out of this right then, but she needed to confront it. Pomfrey had taught him that.

_One of the two Death Eaters suddenly slashed the air with his wand, a red jet of light zooming towards her. She cried out, unable to get out of the curse's way in time. It struck her left shoulder and sent her flying back against the mirrored cabinet where the Pensieve usually was. Little shards of glass tinkled as it fell against the floor. She lay motionless for a moment, propped up against the cabinet._

" _Stupid bitch," snarled the other Death Eater._

_His companion walked towards her, wand still in hand. The Death Eater spat on her a moment later before snickering when she moaned and moved her head slowly. "She ain't so tough now, is she?" He grabbed a hold of her dark curls and yanked her up by it, forcing her to stand. "Huh. So you're Snape's little Pureblood whore."_

Toby tensed instantly. If those two weren't already dead, he'd do it himself. With his bare hands. And slowly so they'd beg for their deaths. He clenched his jaw.

" _I'm his wife, you moron," she hissed, sounding deadly herself. "And when the Dark Lord hears that you just—" The Death Eater holding her backhanded her instantly._

" _Listen here, sweetheart," he sneered. "You don't get to make demands anymore. You see, you ain't off-limits." He chuckled darkly. "In fact, let me tell you what's going down right now, hmm? Your precious husband is getting his just desserts. He's lost his value, you see? So, the Dark Lord's tying up the loose end all pretty. Bye-bye, Snape. Won't miss ya."_

Toby found himself suddenly thrown out of her mind, quickly returning to his own with a gasp. He blinked to reorient himself and frowned. What just happened? The memory wasn't finished. He noticed, then, that Celes was staring at him in identical confusion. So, she hadn't ended it either.

"Celes? Are you all right?" one of her housemates said in clear relief.

"What?" She blinked again. Another voice answered her question.

"You gave us a right scare there for awhile, Miss Martins," Pomfrey stated. "Feel better now?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"No need, dear," the matron replied, waving it off. "Mister Brooks, will you help me move her to the fireplace? She'll need to be up in the hospital wing for a bit while I examine her."

He nodded curtly, still feeling slightly dazed. He slid a hand behind Celes's back and helped her stand. Slowly, they walked to the fireplace, reaching it several minutes later. His brows furrowed when Pomfrey flicked her wand at the flames to freeze them before motioning to him and Celes to step inside the expanded fireplace. He watched the matron toss down the Floo Powder and felt them shoot off.

When they reappeared in the hospital wing, Pomfrey immediately stepped aside to allow Toby to pull Celes along in order to step completely out of the fireplace. As soon as they were clear of it and a toilet magically appeared—thank Merlin for Pomfrey's quick thinking, he helped Celes kneel down in front of it, grimacing as she promptly started to sick up into it. He rubbed gentle circles against her back, frowning. If she was pregnant, her morning sickness was ten times worse than it was last time.

"All right. Shh. It's okay, Celes," he whispered. "It's okay." He closed his eyes tightly at the sounds of her violent dry heaves, knowing they were likely hurting her like hell.

"You're going to feel a funny tingle in a moment," Pomfrey announced above them. "It's just me spelling a potion into your stomach, dear."

He could tell the exact moment the potion was spelled in. Celes slumped against him, gasping and moaning softly. Her eyes were fluttering closed as her whole body shook. Stomach Soother mixed with Dreamless Sleep. It was a damn good choice. She needed to rest. To sleep it off without having to worry about her nightmares again. He'd just wait, watching over her as Pomfrey examined.

* * *

Sometime later, Celes had been moved into one of the private rooms so Toby could continue looking over her. He liked it much better that way. He resituated himself in his chair for what seemed to be the hundredth time. No matter what he did, he just could not get comfortable.

At the sound of the door squeaking open behind him, he briefly glanced at it and inclined his head to Madam Pomfrey. The matron had come in and out of the room throughout the past hour checking on the young witch. She never said a word, though, which unsettled him. He sighed inwardly and finally decided he'd make the first move then.

"How is she, Madam?"

"Much better than she was. As is the fetus thankfully."

He closed his eyes and hung his head. So, she was pregnant again. Oh, Merlin above, how would they deal with this now? He shook his head. Together. That'd deal with it together.

"I don't believe she knew, though. If that's what you're wondering," Pomfrey stated quietly before sighing herself as she glanced at the numbers floating about her patient.

"What do you mean?"

"That she was pregnant. I don't believe it crossed her mind. Her morning sickness _is_ , after all, rather worse than it was last time." Pomfrey huffed, then. "Partly because she's battling an infection on top of it currently. I've cleared that little issue up with a good regimen of antibiotic potions, though. So, that might help ease it somewhat." She glanced towards him. "But she seems to have been spotting somewhat, which occurs sometimes in pregnancies. Frankly, though, she'd have needed to pay close attention to herself. And judging by the fact that she hasn't slept fully in months not to mention eaten properly, I'd bet she hadn't paid that close attention."

"The baby's fine, though?"

"Getting there slowly. She's not as at risk for a miscarriage anymore like she was an hour ago."

"It was that bad? I mean, she's been sleeping fine beside me."

"This week she has," Pomfrey corrected gently.

"We went to bed together every night."

"And would she stay there all night beside you, asleep?"

"I think so." His eyes narrowed before he frowned. "I'd have to get up early and finish some things. I just assumed she remained asleep."

"Well, you were neglecting your sleep as well. Something we talked about if you remember. She likely pretended to sleep while you were with her and stayed awake after you'd leave." She gave him a faint smile, squeezing his shoulder gently. "Don't blame yourself solely for it, Severus. You're not to blame. It's my job to keep track of all of you. I should've recognized the signs earlier. Though, I'd imagine her glamour charms masked it well."

"Will you tell me all the health issues with them?"

"If you'd like." He inclined his head slowly. "She was badly dehydrated. Suffering from malnutrition. A few of her organs were starting to shut down. Positively exhausted from trying not to sleep and dream. And as I said before, she was spotting, likely a result of all that stress. She seems to have developed a bacterial infection in her throat. I'd imagine she picked it up from one of the students at Oxford. It thankfully hasn't spread to the fetus."

He nodded and glanced back at the sleeping young witch. They would definitely have their work cut out for them this time. His eyes gradually moved to her belly before he sighed. Their child was in there. Growing.

"And the baby?" he asked softly.

"Her magic's been protecting the fetus so far. However, it's drastically underweight. I'm trying to correct that, but it's going to take some time. Once again, she's taking the brunt of everything."

"They'll be fine, though?"

"Yes. She's going to need to stay here for awhile, of course." Madam Pomfrey then sighed heavily, a somber look on her face.

He frowned, glancing at her. "What's wrong?"

"As I stated to you earlier, this will bring about a whole set of new issues we'll have to speak about, and with her current level of participation—well, I'm certain you understand."

Oh, boy, did he ever understand. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the chair. Somehow they'd have to find a way to reach her, but he was all out of ideas. He groaned and leaned forward a moment later, rubbing at his tired eyes.

This was a disaster from the start. Positively a disaster. Only Pomfrey was supposed to know about them de-aging, instead Luna, Harry, Hogwarts' ghosts and portraits, and Orin knew now as well. While he wasn't worried about his father-in-law, the portraits and ghosts, or Luna knowing, Potter knowing, however, sent waves of anxiety through him. Experience had taught him long ago that the young man had a knack for not having a good poker face when it came to secrets. Half of Hogwarts likely already knew, jeopardizing her experiment entirely. How were they supposed to test— He frowned instantly. After all this time, he still didn't know what the hell it was they were testing exactly.

"Merlin's bloody damn balls," he growled suddenly.

"Severus!" She glared back when he gave her a sharp look.

"Her experiment is ruined, Pomfrey."

"While her original idea may not be salvageable now, she has something new to research that I'd imagine her professor would find just as fascinating as that. In fact," she stood a little taller, "I've taken the liberty of speaking to her professor already."

"You did _what_?"

"I know perfectly well your hearing is excellent, young man." She then rolled her eyes. "I spoke with Professor Sheridan. I needed to ask her about Aurora and her behavior in class over the past few months anyway."

"Why?"

"To get a full mental background on her. Other than you and Minerva, the only other person she spoke to regularly was Professor Sheridan."

"And what did you find?" He couldn't help but realize how many secrets was still a part of his marriage. Would he and Aurora ever be truly honest and open with one another?

"She stated that at first Aurora was completely withdrawn and frequently either missed or was late to classes, but that her work was always completed and turned in on time. In fact, Aurora's theoretical essays and other such research papers were the only reason she was allowed to remain enrolled in Sheridan's class. She said that she asked Aurora to remain behind after class during the first part of the second week. She asked her flat out just who she thought she was for skipping a week's worth of classes and told her that there were others who deserved to be in her class more than she did. Others who would kill for a spot. Aurora said nothing. Then, Sheridan told her that she either made an effort and proved that she deserved to be there or that she just left and wasted someone else's time. She said she saw an immediate improvement in Aurora. There were still a few days where she was in her old ways, but the rest of the time she was engaged, herself in other words."

"She reached her, then."

"On some level, yes. Aurora's always gravitated towards strong women, listening to them and following their orders. She's a little . . . belligerent sometimes with men, however. As I'm sure you know firsthand."

"You didn't inform her about . . .?"

"No. Of course not. However, Sheridan did mention that once she found out that Aurora was a member of our staff, she realized that Aurora was likely going through a rough time. She doesn't know the details other than what the papers have reported, though."

"So, then for months now she's pretended with all of us that she was fine, while she suffered in silence again."

"That would seem to be the case, yes. But you already knew that."

He frowned, sighing. Pomfrey was right. He did know that already. He had pointed it out earlier.

"So, what do you recommend?"

"Well, based on what I've learned thus far, Aurora throwing herself into her studies is partly a way to distract herself from her pain, but also a way to feel that she's accomplished something. That she's in control of her life now not the other way around. And perhaps to show herself that life goes on. I'm not entirely certain about the last one, though."

He nodded slowly and waited.

"While her original idea for her project is a lost cause now unfortunately, she can alter it and explain something that one rarely experiences. We're all hurting this year. Most of us are searching blindly for something good to grasp onto in order to feel whole again. To reclaim what we lost. The students," she sighed. "Some of them come in here so lost, so confused about what happened last year. Just today I had to speak with a young woman who lost her little brother in the battle. She wondered if he was happy now wherever he was. Another boy came in, full of guilt. His girlfriend wanted to stay at Hogwarts and fight, but he didn't want to lose her so he went off with her to Hogsmeade. So they'd be together and safe. A part of a wall fell on top of her, shattered her pelvis. Then, there's Mister Potter. I doubt I need to tell you how he's feeling." She closed her eyes. "So much grief is here. So much loss and destruction. And yet there are peeks of sunshine every now and then. Hope."

"But I don't see how she can turn everything we're all feeling into a project, though. How she can make it fit into the boundaries of her class."

"Well, her class is centered on adolescent behaviors, Toby. Death, pain, heartbreak, and grief are all things our students are feeling and exhibiting currently." She exhaled shortly. "You gave her that journal so she'd write down her recollections of the day, of what she'd encounter. According to you, her first entry was about losing her daughter. About the grief and guilt she feels with that."

"Correct." He nodded slowly. That wasn't really adolescent-like in his opinion.

"And you yourself are writing in a journal as well, cataloging your experiences."

"I am."

"Well, I'd imagine you'll both put in there about this pregnancy. You'll likely both add about how some of the staff will take the news of two students expecting a child. Not to mention, you'll include the students' reactions and the daily happenings of Hogwarts post-war. There will be a long list of behaviors observed in your journals to give researchers a field day to go over. To my knowledge, no one ever studied the effects of the First Wizarding War on the students. Or if they did, I've never seen it. And from what I've learned of Muggle psychology, they tend to study their soldiers to learn the effects after each conflict. Post-traumatic being the number one injury seen, of course."

"I don't understand." He frowned.

"Far be it from me to hypothesize, but I would imagine that at the end of this year things will be looking up for all of us. You would have documented proof of this and of research—because you are both scientists in nature—that would show precisely when things started to change for us. Whether that be six months from now or less. Show what works and what doesn't in terms of healing a school after dealing with a tragedy that we are coming back from slowly." She shrugged. "Just an idea she seemed to be going along the lines of originally but pulled back from in the end."

He nodded. She likely was worried about the _what if_ only showing darkness. He watched Madam Pomfrey leave the room again and leaned forward to take Celes's hand. He'd suggest it after she woke.


	11. Coming to Good Terms

Celes blinked. And blinked some more. And then blinked even more. They had to be wrong. She couldn't be . . . no. They were wrong. It was a trick. That was all it was. A trick meant to confuse her and let her guard down so they could hurt her again.

"Say something," Toby quietly said, giving her a worried look as he sat beside her.

She shrugged in response. "Nothing to say." She wouldn't fall for their tricks. Not again.

"Celes—"

"No, Toby," she replied firmly, her arms protectively wrapped around her midsection. She wasn't pregnant. They were wrong. It was a false reading or something. It wasn't true. It couldn't be.

"I know that it hurts—"

She scoffed, shaking her head angrily. Oh, he knew that it hurt, did he? How wonderful. He finally learned compassion. She ran a hand through her hair and clenched her teeth. They were idiots. All of them. Idiots trying to hurt her, but she wouldn't let them win this time. She was smarter, stronger now. She'd show them. She would.

When she felt his hand latch onto her chin and force her to look at him, she yelped in surprise. However, her eyes immediately narrowed in pure rage. How dare he touch her! Filthy Half—

"Half-blood?" he finished quietly, clearly hearing her private thoughts.

"Don't do that," she snapped, glaring at him.

"Why not? It's the only way to make you really talk anymore."

"It's private!" She hated seeing how much calmer he was than her. It only made her angrier and want to hurt him even more. It wasn't fair. He could just switch on his stupid Occlumency barriers and protect himself, while she drowned in her emotions in the meantime.

"You used to like it when I listened to your thoughts, hear you drone on about your latest—"

"Yeah, well, not anymore." She heard his clipped sigh and envisioned her punching him.

"We need to talk about this," he said a moment later.

"Nothing to talk about," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Celes, you're pregnant. You can deny it all you want, but the fact remains that you have a human being growing inside you."

She slammed her fists down onto the cot before turning towards him once more. "No! _No_." She punched the mattress repeatedly as hard as she could as she screamed loudly. After screaming out all her frustration, she found herself panting heavily while she came down from her tantrum. "I'll just kill it somehow anyway just like the others. So, why should I even think about it? Even care about it? It'll just hurt even more when we lose it again."

"We won't lose the baby this time," he replied, grabbing her hand in his.

"You don't know that," she shot back, yanking her hands back.

"Neither do you."

They stared at one another for a long while then, locked in a battle of who would back down first. Neither one budged of course. So time slipped away.

"I know you're scared. I'm scared as well," he quietly admitted later. "But we can do this. Together. One day at a time. Please. All I'm asking for is the chance to show you that I'm right."

"I can't," she responded shakily. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can." He brushed aside a few of her tears. "I'll be right here beside you, holding your hand just like this. And when you feel like you can't again, I'll give you every bit of strength I have."

"What if . . ." her voice trailed off.

"It won't," he stated firmly. "Because we'll do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen. It'll be better this time. Trust me." He stood up and silently slipped in beside her on the cot. His arms quickly wrapped around her as he held her, rubbing her back when she buried her face into his robes. "We'll take all this one day at a time, nice and slow."

"I'm scared."

"I know. Everything's going to be all right, though." He then kissed the top of her head softly and pulled her even closer to him. "I won't let anything hurt you ever again. I promise."

She closed her eyes at the sound of his steady heartbeat against her ear. She hoped he was right.

* * *

Several hours later, Toby silently extricated himself from her embrace as she slept. He kissed her forehead with a faint smile on his lips. She looked better now. At least in his opinion, but he guessed that was likely because he wanted her to look better. Turning slowly, he walked to the door and slipped out of the room. He knew that he'd be back soon, so he left her door slightly ajar.

He had just made it across the main area of the hospital wing when he noticed the figure leaning against the nearby windowsill. He frowned but slowly turned and headed towards the person. When he caught the dull green eyes, he inclined his head to acknowledge the young man.

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Eventually," Toby replied quietly, his hands moving to his jean pockets as he stood awkwardly.

"Good." The young man then yawned before he shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize for being tired, Potter. I'd imagine everyone is of late." He watched Harry nod slowly before the young man glanced back out the window. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I heard about Celes." Harry shrugged. "Thought maybe you'd like someone to talk to."

Toby gave a half-snort and shook his head. "Or rather you'd like to talk to me and knew I'd be here." He leaned against the wall with crossed arms. "So, talk."

"Here?"

"Yes. I'm not planning on wandering too far away in case Celes needs me," he explained quietly. He watched the young man nod a moment later, causing him to erect a privacy ward around them to keep out eavesdroppers.

"All right." Harry slowly sat down on one of the nearby cots, watching Toby follow suit. "I realize that some things I ask you can't answer, but I've been wondering a few things." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up soon after. "First being the hardest for you, I guess." His green eyes darted back to Toby's. "How are you alive? I mean, when we left, you were . . . You didn't move anymore, so we assumed you were, you know, dead."

Toby sighed, pressing his lips tightly together as he thought for a moment on his wording. "As I'm certain you likely realized by now, I lost an extreme amount of blood from my wounds. That resulted in me temporarily losing consciousness, which is what you likely witnessed before leaving." He frowned. He hadn't really thought on these details in several months. "The venom from the bite slowed my bodily functions to next to nothing, so I'd imagine my heartbeat had slowed enough to make it seem as if it wasn't beating." He rubbed his jaw for a moment. "I'm not certain on all the details because there were things even I wasn't allowed to know, but it would seem that the headmaster learned of my being gravely wounded in the Shrieking Shack. He healed me somehow, likely with Fawkes I would imagine."

"Oh." Harry nodded again. "What about Dumbledore?"

" _Professor_ Dumbledore," Toby corrected habitually, "is alive because I did not intend to kill him that night on the Astronomy Tower."

"I don't understand. I saw the blinding green light. I heard you say it."

"Correct. You _heard_ me say it and saw a blinding green light. However, I did not cast the Killing Curse, Harry." He caught the young man's eyes narrow in confusion instantly. "I used another spell that has similar properties to the Killing Curse and used a color-changing spell to make it green. In essence, I suppose you could say that I killed the headmaster's cursed hand."

"Whoa! A person can cast two nonverbal spells at once?"

He snorted, giving a faint smile. One would wonder if Hogwarts ever taught their students anything useful judging by Harry's reaction. "Yes. However, it requires a great deal more focus and magic. It had to be believable after all."

"Right because we needed Voldemort to trust you fully so he'd give you Hogwarts. Then, you could protect the students and keep an eye on other important stuff, while I searched for Horcruxes."

"Correct."

"But why didn't he just tell me it was all an act? Or you tell me that?"

"You shared a direct link with the Dark Lord, Potter. Why do you think we didn't tell you?"

"Yeah, I guess, but I wanted to kill you last year for 'killing' Professor Dumbledore."

"I can imagine," Toby replied with a shrug.

"Did Professor Sinistra know? About all of this, I mean?"

"No."

"She didn't know that you didn't really kill Dumbledore?"

"I believe I just said that, Potter."

"Did she know you were a good guy at least?"

Toby snorted. "What do you think?"

"Honestly, sir? I don't know what to think anymore," Harry replied quietly.

"In the years I've known her, I've never had to tell her where my loyalties lie. She's never asked of course, but she's always supported me. She's a bit like your mother in a way, I suppose. Always seeing the good in people when sometimes there is none to see." He watched Harry nod slowly.

"You loved my mother, didn't you?"

He sighed. Of course Harry would ask that. "I believe you know that answer."

"Yeah, but things don't match up with what I saw in your memories, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Professor Sinistra are married. Yet, that day in Professor Dumbledore's office you cast my mother's Patronus—just like that time in the Forest of Dean—and said 'Always' like you will always love my mother. Wouldn't Professor Sinistra get ticked with you for that?"

"Perhaps sometimes she is, but no one ever said that you can't love two people."

"But every time you cast it, you pretty much tell her that you love my mother more."

"No." Toby shook his head. "Your mother was a very important person in my life, and I do love her very much, but I love Aurora more. In fact, if you looked very closely at my Patronus, you would see that it is gradually losing its doe shape."

"It's changing?"

"Yes. Gradually."

"But when Tonks realized she was in love with Remus, it was—"

He grimaced instantly and held a hand up to cut Harry off. "I'm aware. However, she is younger than I am. Thirteen years younger than I am. So, it's much easier to change when you're not so set in your ways."

"Oh."

"Indeed."

"S—Toby?"

He sighed. "Yes?"

"Thank you for keeping me alive all these years and protecting me. I mean, I still don't really get why you acted the way you did, hating me and all, but I do appreciate everything you did and sacrificed so I'd be safe." The young man sighed. "And I know it doesn't really mean much coming from me since I'm not my mum, but I—well, I think—what I mean to say is that I think you can stop punishing yourself now." His green eyes reluctantly met Toby's. "You couldn't have known what happened. I mean, you maybe had an idea, but, well, you made a mistake. A really horrible one, but a mistake nonetheless. We all made mistakes at some point." Harry gave a soft snort as something crossed his mind. "I mean, hell, look at Malfoy. He chose his family over Hermione, and look where that got him."

"I'd imagine that Malfoy would state that he's made worse mistakes than that one."

"Yeah, maybe, but he really is trying to make it up to her and all now," Harry said with a shrug. "Saw him actually stand in front of the tower with flowers the other day, waiting for her."

Toby snorted. That wasn't half-bad of an idea. His mind then wandered over to the other day in the courtyard seeing Granger with Celes.

"How is Weasley taking all of this?"

"Badly." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Professor McGonagall and his mum decided that he should be at the Burrow for a bit to take some time for himself. He thinks it's all a conspiracy meant to break him and Hermione up, though." Harry frowned. "Thing is it sounds like they're pretty much finished anyway. She's had the letter written for months now. She just can't find it in her to give to him. I don't blame her. Ron sometimes is, well, a git."

"He left you and Miss Granger when you were on your journey once, didn't he?" Toby recalled Phineas Nigellus relaying that to him once.

"Yeah." Harry scoffed, shaking his head. "I don't know if it was that he realized I didn't know what I was doing or if it was because of the Horcrux affecting him, but we all saw a side of him that wasn't pretty. Of each other, too, for that matter."

"Did he hit her, then?"

"No. Not then. He got rather nasty with her, though, before he left. It was up there in your range of insults actually. He was convinced that I liked Hermione, which I don't. Not like that. But, no, he didn't hit her. Not until this summer I guess. I don't know. We're all so damaged, you know? It was like something in us broke, and we haven't been able to put back the pieces yet."

Toby nodded slowly. "A feeling to which I can relate with," he quietly stated.

"Yeah?" Harry then sighed. "You said you hit her once, but that you love her?"

"I do."

"Then, why'd you do it?"

He shrugged slightly. "Because I didn't know how to handle myself, handle all the anger I felt. So I lost control for a split-second and slapped her. If I had just taken a step back, taken a deep breath to calm myself, it wouldn't have happened."

"Did she forgive you?"

"She did. It's one of her more annoying habits, letting me off the hook constantly." Toby smiled faintly. "She frequently complains that I flog myself over the littlest things, that I act like I think I deserve every horrible thing that comes my way."

"Is she right?"

"Probably," Toby replied with a soft laugh before sighing as his mood darkened slightly. "You saw some of my memories, likely inferred other parts, so you can understand why I would. I'm used to having people leave me. In fact, Aurora is the one person who has stayed the longest in my life."

"What about your parents?"

He winced as he recalled that he hadn't contacted his dad yet. "Our contact is rather subdued for the most part. I try to ensure that they know I'm alive and that I know they are, but we stick to our own worlds for the most part." _It's better that way_ , Toby thought silently. Merlin help him if his mother or his father came to Hogwarts anytime soon. The castle would crumble after a visit from them.

"I'm a bit like that. Hermione's been with me through everything. Her and Ron."

"Ever since the troll incident, I recall." He caught Harry's soft laugh.

"Yeah. I was convinced that you were trying to steal the stone that year."

"You were convinced every year that I was trying to do something horrible, Potter." He watched Harry nod slowly and sighed inwardly. "Then again, I did act a bit more sinister than I should have."

"Was it fun scaring the hell out of all of us year after year?"

"It was amusing at times, I'd admit," he replied with a shrug. "But fun wasn't not a motivation."

"Yeah. Saving the son of your childhood tormentor and lost love was." Harry sighed. "I'm sorry my dad was a git to you."

Toby groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stop apologizing for every little thing. It's annoying. You aren't James or Lily. You didn't even have a chance to grow up with them thanks to the Dark Lord so you never got to know them truly. So stop apologizing for things that happened between them and me. Understood?"

"Got it." Harry kicked the ground with his badly worn trainers.

"If anything, it should be me apologizing to you for letting a petty schoolboy grudge affect how I acted with you over these years. I should have seen you, not seen the opportunity to get your father back for all the crap he did to me. I behaved like a complete arse, and it's inexcusable. I apologize sincerely."

"Wow."

Toby rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Eloquent as usual, I see." He heard Harry's snort and smiled faintly.

"Think we'll be all right now? Like we both can move on from this?"

"In time probably." He glanced at the young man. "Are you speaking to Madam Pomfrey regularly? About everything that happened?"

"Yeah. It's sort of slow going, though. And I get angry sometimes when she pushes."

"Join the club," Toby muttered.

"So, it's normal?"

"Perfectly. When we get angry, it's a sort of mental block we hit. Breaking it, letting go of the anger and talking in other words, helps us put the pieces back together in the right way by helping us make sense of things. At least that's my understanding."

"It sucks talking about it."

"Well, it if it was fun, we'd be doing it all the time," he replied dryly.

"I know, but there are only so many times I want to talk about losing . . . her."

Toby closed his eyes in sudden understanding. Harry was reaching out to him. He let out a slow breath before he reopened his eyes and glanced at the young man.

"I was the same way after your mother died. I didn't want to reopen those wounds. So I hung on to my stubbornness, blanketed myself in it to keep Pomfrey out."

"But eventually you let her in."

"No, Harry. I didn't."

"You never talked to anyone after Mum's death? You just kept it all in?"

"I tried to keep it in at first. Merlin, I was moody son of a bitch for weeks actually because of it. The headmaster put me on leave finally after I lost my temper in class one day and scared all them to death. I let my anger out on everyone around me." He watched Harry stare at him taking everything in. "It was entirely the wrong thing to do, of course. Every day more anger grew in me as I kept pushing it away, kept ignoring it. And as a result, I kept pushing everyone away. I was lost, Harry. For awhile there actually, I even wished that I had died."

"I remember seeing that memory," the young man quietly admitted. "It was one time where I thought Dumbledore was being a heartless git."

Toby shrugged. "I needed tough love to snap me out of it."

"That wasn't tough love, sir," Harry argued.

"Perhaps not, but it's what I equate it to." He folded his hands in his lap and glanced down at his empty ring finger. "Aurora was in Rome at the time, finishing her last year at university. Somehow she received word about what had happened in England, learned of your mother's death, and came home. I was mess when she found me."

"Is that when you two fell in love?"

"Oh, hell no," Toby drawled with a loud laugh. "No. I was too damn blind to see her then. She found me in one of the rundown shitty pubs of Cokeworth." He caught Harry's slight smile at hearing his relaxed tone. "I was utterly drunk off my arse, making a right fool of myself. She told me as such, too. I snapped at her, trying to push her away. Only 'no' is not in that witch's vocabulary."

"Stubborn like you?"

"She gives me a run for my galleons some days, yes." He shook his head as he recalled that time. "She pulled me out of that pub, kicking and screaming. I called her every name in the book and then some, and she only returned it in kind—not backing down in the slightest. At the time, I didn't know it was her of course. All I knew was that some witch was bossing me around and interrupting my pity party. Either way, she eventually got me settled in one of the nearby hotel rooms, deciding it'd be too much work to drag me through the streets in hopes of finding my childhood home. She put me in a full-body bind and poured a sobering potion down my throat before knocking me out with a stunner. I could have murdered her for that."

"What happened then?"

"Well, as I slept my hangover off, she went to nearly every establishment I had ever gone to and threatened the local barkeep if he or she served me again. I didn't find out about that until much later, though. When I woke up the next morning, there was a note underneath my wand."

"What'd it say?"

"I'm sorry, Severus." He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "It never crossed my mind that it'd be from Aurora. I guess I had stupidly hoped at the time that it was a message from your mother so I convinced myself that it was. And that made it easier for a time."

"Professor Sinistra never came back to check on you?" The young man sounded perplexed by that. "To make sure you weren't drinking again?"

"She didn't need to. She had spies watching me and reporting back to her."

"That's a Slytherin thing, isn't it? Having spies watch others?"

"Probably," Toby agreed quietly with a smile. "She joined the staff a year later, keeping me pleasantly distracted. We'd trade insults back and forth with each other. It soon became a game for us. And that game led to some resemblance to a friendship. She'd stay with me every Halloween night after the feast. We'd head back to my rooms usually, and she'd have a bottle of the finest elf-wine with her that we'd share."

"You'd both get drunk?"

"No. I wouldn't drink to the point of sheer drunkenness with her ever, out of fear that I'd hurt her somehow. And she rarely had more than one sip usually." He sighed quietly. "Every time Halloween rolled around, my heart felt like it was being ripped out once more. So, the wine numbed it for a time. And usually I'd relax to the point where I'd open up. I keep it hidden in riddles what I was truly divulging, so only I knew, but I would talk about your mother. And Aurora would listen. She wouldn't say anything while I spoke, only nod every now and then. After awhile, I—I don't know but I think I grew to trust her—so I'd talk sometimes without the wine helping it along until finally I revealed everything I could." He closed his eyes, rubbing at them tiredly. "I didn't tell her that I was the headmaster's man of course. I kept my loyalty to him a secret. But she knew my heart so she knew the truth. All she had to do was work it out."

"She's the only person you've let in?"

"Other than you now?" He waited for Harry's nod. "Yes. Willingly at least. The Dark Lord and the headmaster weren't much on allowing me to have secrets. They'd both probe my mind to learn things, and usually wouldn't find the thing they were looking for unless I let them."

"Did they know you were married to her?"

"No. It was too dangerous. They'd exploit her to get to me, and I truly didn't want to lose her. That's a constant fear that I battle with some days." He closed his eyes and let his shoulders slump. "As I lay in the Shrieking Shack, I heard her screams in my mind. I couldn't do anything to help her."

"I'm guessing Pomfrey told you that it wasn't your fault and that you weren't to blame?"

"No, but I'd imagine that would be exactly what she'd say if I had told her."

"Wait. You didn't tell Pomfrey?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I needed to deal with my near death first. Get myself in order in other words."

"Oh."

"We're just slowly starting to get to my relationship and how it's been affected."

Harry rubbed his neck nervously. "She tried that with me, but really I feel fine. I mean, it's heartbreaking that so many people died because of me, but _I_ didn't kill them. Voldemort did."

"Very wise of you to think like that," Toby quietly replied. "You're correct. You're not to blame for others' actions."

"Yeah." The young man exhaled loudly. "It hurts going into the Great Hall, you know? Knowing that was where . . ." His voice faltered.

"You're not alone, Harry."

"I know. Everyone keeps telling me that."

"It's true, though."

"I guess. But it's odd." He shrugged.

"What is?"

"Well, shouldn't I be like Ron is? Angry at the world?"

"Everyone grieves differently. Some of us become angry and wish to hurt others, while some of us just hurt ourselves instead."

"I thought this would feel different." He glanced at Toby. "Losing her, I mean? Like it felt after I lost Sirius, but it doesn't. I'd tell Pomfrey that, but she'd probably say something's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you. Trust me. You're just grieving in your own way." Toby held a pained expression for a moment. He knew in his mind that he really shouldn't open up too much with the young man, but Harry needed guidance, hope. "Potter?" The young man glanced at him. "What I'm about to say can never be repeated, is that understood? Not to your friends, not to anyone?"

"I understand," Harry replied with a puzzled look.

"Last May, Aurora was pregnant." He sighed softly, glancing down at his ring finger again. "We had tried for years to have a baby, but nothing worked. We were just about to give up hope when Pomfrey informed her that she was pregnant. Aurora made Pomfrey swear she wouldn't tell anyone about the baby or about me being the father." He swallowed, closing his eyes. "We hid the pregnancy from everyone else just like our marriage. Aurora would go to her subsequent healer appointments, alone, and I'd wait for her to tell me all about them later in our rooms. The castle, portraits, and ghosts all knew, of course, but they didn't let on since there was a war going on."

"What happened to the baby?"

"I had returned to Hogwarts after McGonagall and Flitwick drove me out and found Aurora on her tower. I Disapparated her away, to make sure my family was safe. I then returned to Hogwarts to find you and left her. I had thought she'd stay in the cottage, that she'd understand. She didn't, though. She returned to Hogwarts, went to my office thinking I had gone there in fact. Two Death Eaters found her there and attacked her. I don't know any of the other details. We haven't talked about that night, but she suffered a miscarriage with our daughter." He let out a rare shaky breath. "This entire time up until now, I-I didn't feel anything towards it, the heartbreak, I mean. I lost a daughter just as much as my wife had. Yet it didn't affect me like it has affected her. In my mind, all I can think about is the fact that it could have been worse. That I could have lost Aurora. And I think if I would have lost her instead of our daughter, I wouldn't have recovered from it. But like you with Miss Weasley, I'm not really devastated with the loss of my unborn child. It's tragic, yes, but it could have been so much worse."

Harry swiped at his eyes silently and nodded, sniffling quietly. "Thank you."

Toby merely stood up and gently squeezed the young boy's shoulder. "You're not alone, Harry."


	12. In-Laws

Eight days had passed by with little note. Students went to their classes. Teachers taught. Every now and then, students and staff would stop for a moment and glance at one of the deep scars that lined the castle's walls now. They'd stare briefly at a fallen stone on the floor before someone would quickly pick it up and silently remove it. Their hearts were collectively broken, but clearly not their spirits. Life was slowly going on at Hogwarts.

With her blue-tipped curls bouncing wildly around her face, Celes chased after Toby as he continued walking up ahead of her through the courtyard with Harry at his side. She could hear her robes flapping in the wind behind her as she ran after him. Honestly, some days she had truly pondered the idea of stepping on the back of his robes to slow him down. He always walked with so much purpose in his stride, clearly not stopping for anyone.

At the sight of Toby sitting down on a bench with Harry a few moments later, she sighed in relief. It was about time they stopped. For a minute there, she was convinced she'd have to chase them through the whole castle in order to catch up to them.

Silently approaching Toby from behind, she felt a bit playful for once, a mood she hadn't been in since the Final Battle last May. Her slender hands quickly covered his eyes, feeling him tense initially before relaxing soon after. She leaned forward, her lips next to his ear.

"Guess who?" she whispered, smiling widely. She heard Harry's laugh beside her instantly.

"Luna?" Toby replied, clearly teasing.

"You arse." She laughed and removed her hands, smiling down at him.

"Ah. Well, you were going to be my second guess." Toby grinned cheekily up at her. He chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him.

"So, what are you two troublemakers up to today?"

Toby shrugged before he held his hand out to her and silently led her around the bench.

"I'm trying to see if the rumors are true," Harry answered with a laugh. "But he's not giving me anything of course."

"Rumors?" Her smile faltered for a moment. Her eyes shot towards Toby.

"He's trying to see if I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team tomorrow," Toby said with a snort, gently pulling her onto his lap and loosely wrapping his arms around her as soon as he could. "He's worried that Ravenclaw might be a contender this year."

"Really?" She glanced towards Harry, who was clearly trying to keep from laughing. It was nice to see the young man happy for once. Circe knew that poor Harry deserved a little happiness after all. Deciding to keep the playfulness going, she crossed her arms. "Well, I'll have you know that my boyfriend would mop the floor with you, Potter. No one's a better flier than him."

"Is that right?" Harry laughed shortly, glancing at Toby. "Because I'm imagining him coming off the broom looking like he just swallowed a bug or something, Celes."

All three of them knew the memory the young man was referring to. The ill-fated Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor debacle, where Snape had refereed to keep Quirrell from trying to curse Harry again. Toby merely snorted again, shaking his head.

"I think you'd find that appearances can be quite deceiving, Harry," Toby drawled.

"Isn't that what they all say before they lose?" the Gryffindor shot back with a laugh. "I'll warn you. I learned from the best when it comes to intimidating the hell out of your opponent."

"Oh?"

Harry's smile widened as his green eyes found Toby's. "I learned from Professor Snape."

"You mean, the git who clearly needed a shag or two?" he joked.

"Or four," Celes cut in with a shrug. She smiled deviously when their eyes darted to her in clear shock. "What? According to the other girls, he _was_ rather uptight."

"I, um, I think I'm going to head back to the tower now," Harry quietly said with a grimace. He nodded towards Toby. "Anytime you want to show me your mad skills, you know where I am."

"What about tomorrow afternoon? We've both got a free period then. Unless you're scared?" Celes purred, smiling.

"Tomorrow it is then." Harry chuckled before he silently walked away.

"Someone's in a good mood today," Toby quietly stated, pulling her sideways to sit crossways on his lap now.

"He was in a good mood today, wasn't he?" She smiled faintly. "Good for Harry."

"I was talking about you, Celes."

She laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I know you were." She then exhaled slowly. "I just feel real good today. I don't know why."

He nodded. "Well, I'm glad that you're doing better," he stated, kissing her forehead a moment later. When he heard her sigh of annoyance, he chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged. "It's just you're my boyfriend now."

He ran his fingers through her curls with a faint smile. _In other words, you want me to snog you breathless,_ he sent through their mental link. He caught her shrug instantly and snorted. "And then?" he said, glancing at her. He wanted to hear her voice her wishes.

"Well, it's just I thought we could do, you know, boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

"We are." He gestured to the both of them. "You're sitting on my lap right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same," she whined. "You won't even kiss me around others. It's like you're embarrassed of me or something."

"Hardly." His eyes darted to the opposite side of the courtyard where he saw Granger and Draco walking off together. _I'm just a little rusty when it comes to all this dating crap_ , he thought, knowing she would hear his thought. _It has been three years since I've had to do any of this after all, woman._ He heard her loud sigh and glanced at her with a frown. "What?"

She quickly turned and pushed herself up off him before grabbing his hands and tugging him upwards. When he gave her a look of confusion, she laughed loudly, downright giddy for some reason now. "Come on. I've got an idea of something we can do."

"Celes?" Was this another of her strange mood swings? Her smile widened, which made him secretly worry. Was he going to find himself being—for the lack of a better word—manhandled in another classroom again?

 _No sex, I promise,_ she sent him through their link. _Just a little devious fun._

His brow rose. Devious fun? Now, why did that make him worry even more? He stood up, though, and let her pull him through the courtyard. His eyes narrowed briefly when she led him towards the Transfiguration classroom.

"What are you doing, Celes?"

"I've got to ask Professor McGonagall a quick question."

He blinked in confusion before deciding just to follow her. His wife and McGonagall were quite close after all. If she needed to see her, then he'd let her. Maybe it'd distract her enough to make her forget about this 'devious fun' of hers. When she pulled him into the classroom a moment later, he glanced around before he quickly realized that McGonagall wasn't there. He then heard the door close behind them and turned back to her, crossing his arms.

"She's not here."

"I know," Celes said with a wide smile. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. "But we are." She rolled her eyes when he likely wore a look of complete bewilderment. _We need to start making it obvious we're together, right?_ He inclined his head. _Well, let's make it obvious then, Severus._ He quickly pulled back from her with wide eyes.

"No. No. Absolutely not!" he exclaimed, feeling slightly warm as his face flushed with embarrassment. "I am not shagging you on her desk!" Dear Merlin above, how could she even suggest such a thing? McGonagall and she practically had a mother-daughter relationship. Once the truth was out for good, he wouldn't be able to face the Head of Gryffindor for a year out of embarrassment.

She laughed, shaking her head in clear amusement. "I'm not suggesting that. Circe."

"Then I don't follow." When she grabbed his robes a moment later and yanked him hard into her, he fell forward on top of her, pinning her upper body against the cherry-top desk. He let out a strangled cry as her lips slammed against his.

 _Just keep kissing me,_ she sent through their link. _And if she catches us and knows it us, I'll take the blame since it's my idea._

 _She'll kill me._ There was no way in hell Minerva McGonagall, Miss Prim and Proper herself, would kill Celes after all—if she knew Celes was really Aurora. Experience had taught him that his wife could get away with murder when it came to McGonagall being in charge. So, naturally, he'd be the one who'd get killed for this plan.

 _Where's your sense of adventure?_ Celes teased, holding his eyes as she lightly bit his bottom lip. _You old stick in the mud._

_I'm the one who's going to get into—_

_She doesn't know it's me, though. All she'd see is two fifteen-year-olds snogging like hell on her desk. It'd likely turn into her going on about 'the gall' and 'never in all her years' or something. Come on. Admit it. You want to break a few rules, too. And just think about it. No one has done this in the history of Hogwarts to her._

His eyes darkened slightly as he gave her his 'not amused' look. _Likely because they're not that foolish,_ he replied, ever so slightly starting to kiss her back—purely on instinct of course.

_Well, Severus wouldn't do it for sure. But I'm not Aurora and you're not Severus right now._

_She's going to murder me_ , he grimly thought, his hands moving to either side of her before he started to deepen their kiss. He couldn't deny that there was a part of him—very small, mind you—that did find it rather alluring that he was snogging her atop of McGonagall's desk. It was like the ultimate payback for all the times the Gryffindor had either embarrassed him or made him look foolish. But a bigger part kept reminding him of the fact that McGonagall considered Aurora as her daughter. Therefore, the older witch would flay him alive for this.

 _I say detention for a month,_ Celes sent through their link.

He ignored her, though. He was so going to go to hell for this. His right hand found Celes's tight curls, twirling them around his finger as he pressed her head further against his. His left hand, though, slowly trailed down her body before snaking underneath the lower part of her robe. His fingers grazed her inner thigh a moment later. He chuckled when he felt her jerk in surprise. Served her right.

 _Just be careful where you put that hand,_ she chided in his mind.

He snorted before he deepened their kiss once more, his tongue dueling hers. Every now and then, he'd get a taste of her lip gloss, causing him to swallow at how surprisingly good it tasted. After a bit, he couldn't stand the brief accidental tastes anymore. He soon concentrated all his energy on her lips, licking and sucking on them to taste more of that delicious lip gloss.

A loud gasp then echoed around the room followed by a sharp sting as Toby was magically yanked back from Celes. His eyes quickly darted to the door, seeing McGonagall clutching her chest in the doorway. He couldn't recall the last time was that he had seen her this angered.

"Never in all my years as a Deputy Headmistress have I ever seen such disgraceful behavior!" she shouted at the young couple, her green eyes flashing. " _Well_? What do you have to say for yourselves?" she demanded, her thick Scottish accent filtering into her speech.

Toby instantly glanced at the floor and shifted his weight. He was so going to hell for this.

"Nothing?" She scoffed. "A wise move on your parts clearly," McGonagall briskly stated. "One hundred points will be deducted from both of your houses."

"That's it?" Celes blurted out, blinking in shock.

Toby groaned inwardly before he glanced at her. When he saw Celes's eyes widen, he knew that she had realized then that she had said it aloud.

"That most certainly is not it, Miss Martins, I assure you," McGonagall snapped. Her eyes flashed once more before she pointed at the door. "Headmaster's office. Now!"

Toby sighed silently. So much for staying out of trouble this time.

"March. Or I'll deduct fifty more points from both of your Houses."

The two students moved faster then, heading for the door. Both of their heads hung as they walked through the seemingly empty corridors towards the office. Reaching the white phoenix statue a moment later, they waited for McGonagall to give the password.

However, before she could say a word, the white wizard appeared from a nearby alcove. His usual twinkle in his blue eyes was strangely absent, replaced with a look of extreme somberness.

"Minerva?" Dumbledore spoke quietly, glancing between them curiously.

"Headmaster." She smiled thinly before pointing towards the young couple. "These two were—"

Dumbledore quickly held a hand up and shook his head slowly. "Whatever you decide is appropriate I'll agree to. I trust your judgment." His dull blue eyes then glanced at the phoenix statue for a brief moment before he turned away and headed away from them.

McGonagall's brows raised instantly before she quickly came back to herself. Her eyes then darted back at the young couple as she stood a little taller and straighter.

"You'll both be serving two-months detention with me, and letters will be sent to both of your parents concerning this egregious incident. Is this understood?"

"Yes, Professor," the couple quietly replied.

"I cannot believe the lack of serious judgment you two have shown today." McGonagall's eyes then met Toby's. "Especially you, Mister Brooks. I thought you would have known better, seeing as how you're the sensible one."

Toby just barely kept the smile from his lips. That was a hell of a compliment she gave him.

"Dismissed." The couple silently left the corridor a moment later.

* * *

Having decided not long after leaving that they had to inform Toby's parents about what was going on lest ruin it all, Toby and Celes quickly found themselves standing outside of the Defense classroom. They walked in a moment later, Toby holding the door open for her before following her inside. Soft noise from up in the office led them to believe that Orin was there, so they headed up the stairs and knocked once against the closed door.

"Enter," Orin called out from inside. His eyes narrowed for a second when they walked in before he chuckled and shook his head. "Somebody looks like they swallowed the canary today," he remarked, waving his hand to magically close the door behind the young couple. The privacy wards quickly crackled around them, signaling that it was okay for them to speak freely. "What's going on?"

Toby shifted and cleared his throat instantly. He'd let Celes take the lead this time.

"Well, um, Minerva's going to be sending you an owl shortly."

"Already?" Orin blinked. "But I just sent that letter to her."

"Huh? What letter?"

Toby glanced from father to daughter, noticing that the two clearly seemed to be referring to two different letters. He smiled faintly and kept quiet.

"Never mind that. Why is she sending me an owl?" When he received only silence, Orin's paternal side quickly kicked in. He shot up from his desk and looked his daughter over instantly, as if to check her for any visible injuries. Rounding his desk with purposeful strides, he reached her moments later. "What is it? Did you have a flashback? Or hurt yourself? Or—"

"Nothing like that, Dad," she replied with a soft smile, resting her hand on her father's arm to calm him once more. "I'm good. Really."

Toby watched the older man's shoulders slump and lose the tension suddenly at her reply. Clearly Orin was who she got her quick emotional response from. Toby stood silently by Celes's side and forced a smile when her father glanced at him.

"Then what is it?" Orin asked, clearly puzzled.

"Minerva caught Toby and I snogging earlier."

Clearing his throat loudly, Toby gave her a look that urged her to tell the whole story.

"In her classroom." She paused and glanced down, adding quietly, "On her desk."

"You did what? Oh, dear Merlin above." Orin snorted, shaking his head before chuckling. "I take it there was a reason behind that other than hormones?"

"Well, yeah, but it was sort of fun, too," Celes replied.

"Oh but of course it was," Orin drawled before he glanced at Toby. "I guess that explains why your lips are so shiny today." He handed him a tissue with a soft chuckle when Toby quickly snatched it and started rubbing at his lips fiercely. "All right. So I'll ignore it then and send something off to Tobias so he doesn't think he lost his mind. Speaking of which, have you talked to your dad yet?"

Toby paused in his lip gloss removal before he shook his head. "Not yet."

"We've been sort of busy with classes, you know," Celes remarked.

"Not so busy to keep from snogging, though," Orin pointed out, giving his daughter a look. He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hand slowly then. "However, I know you what you mean. I've been meaning to talk with you as well, baby girl. Just things keep coming up before I get that chance."

"Dad, really. I'm fine. You don't need to worry. Today's a good day."

"Yeah. You're right." He smiled softly before he kissed the top of her head and hugged her. He chuckled as he glanced at Toby. "I forgot how short she was."

"Hey!"

"She's still short, sir. Just nowadays she wears her boots to hide it," Toby said with a laugh.

"Oh, _hilarious_. Aren't you two just a regular bunch of comedians today?" She rolled her eyes.

"We try, don't we, son?" Orin joked, his smile reaching his eyes now.

Toby only smirked in response.

"So," Orin drawled. "What are your plans for tonight?"

Celes shrugged. "Well, Toby needs a new broom for tomorrow, so we'll probably sneak out and get one for him." That was news to Toby, but he wisely stayed quiet just in case she was being sarcastic.

"You're going to draw a lot of attention to yourselves if you're both out and about in London tonight," her dad pointed out. "Albus likely would hear about that and start to wonder about you two. Then where would you be? Unless you've got an excuse all lined up?"

It was a valid question. How would they explain being away in London? They did look fifteen again with slight alterations of course. Two fifteen-year-olds out late on a school night would make people look twice and wonder about them.

"I don't know. But he needs a broom. And one that he picked out, too," she shot back.

Toby snorted, shaking his head. He wasn't even certain he was going to try out for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team tomorrow. Then again, Quidditch was something one wouldn't usually associate with Severus Snape, so it would throw people off. Plus, he had to admit that he did want to try new things while he was younger, get a second childhood so to speak.

"Fair enough. And I've got a way you two can do that tonight." Orin's eyes then narrowed on his daughter in his usual fatherly manner. "One where you don't have to sneak out and get in more trouble," he added. "Or make me sit up late at night worrying about you either."

"Yes, Dad," she drawled, rolling her eyes. "So, what's this way?"

"Well, I still owe you two that reward for making it through the course first since you never came two weeks ago." He shrugged. "I can ask Albus for permission for taking you two out tonight. As long as I'm with you two, I don't see a problem with it."

"You'd take us to London under the guise that we're being rewarded?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not? Minerva rewards her lions all the time."

"With House points, not a trip to London."

"It's just dinner. I've got the tickets already. Plus, I seem to recall Albus doing this with some of his students. Not to mention Horace," Orin said. "I won't make it obvious that I'm taking you guys to London to go shopping for a broom, but, well, we do need to talk. And there's no place better than there to do it. Okay?" She inclined her head slowly. "Good. Wear your street clothes and meet me in the Entrance Hall at six. We'll go then." He hugged his daughter briefly once more before they left.

* * *

A few minutes before six, they quietly walked hand-in-hand from Toby's room in Ravenclaw Tower to the Entrance Hall. Toby couldn't help but take quick peeks at Celes every now and then. Her definition of street clothes was very different from his. While he wore faded blue jeans and a grey-and-white checkered three-quarter sleeve shirt, she on the other hand wore a blue halter and a skimpy black skirt. She looked more like she was going clubbing than out with her father, Toby thought.

"Toby?" she quietly said when they were nearly to the Entrance Hall.

"What?"

"Why do you think he wants to talk to us tonight?"

He exhaled slowly and shrugged. "Maybe because we've been putting it off with him. We never did really talk with either of them after that day."

"Yeah, but we need time. I mean, I'm not—today's the first day in a long time I've felt good."

"I know," Toby softly replied, squeezing her hand.

"I don't want to talk about that day. I just move on and forget it ever happened."

He leaned towards her and kissed the top of her head with a sigh. "I know you do, but we sort of have to let them in, too. It didn't just affect us." He closed his eyes briefly when he heard her scoff. "They just want to know if we're all right. That's it. They're just worried about us. It'll be all right, though, okay? Just trust me."

"Yeah." She clearly didn't sound happy about dinner with her father in the slightest, which was yet another sign of the damage the Final Battle had on her. "Toby?"

"Yes?"

"Should we tell him tonight about," her voice trailed off as she glanced around the corridor for a second to check if anyone was around. "About you know? Or should we wait?"

"If you want to tell him, then we will. If not, we can wait." He drew in a slow breath before pressing his lips tightly together to keep silent. However, he soon realized that he couldn't hold back his words. "Though, if we tell them now, then it helps us in the long run with you not be so stressed later on." Her being stressed constantly had been a frequent issue they had been forced to deal with during her last pregnancy. Of course he wasn't blaming her. The Dark Lord being in charge of the Ministry and Hogwarts would stress anyone out.

"So, we should tell him then?"

"If you want," he replied noncommittally. He heard her groan instantly and glanced down at her. He knew her well enough to know that she hated being the one to decide these things, but he wouldn't choose for her this time.

"Fine. We'll tell him." She exhaled loudly.

"All right then," Toby agreed, shrugging slightly. They then continued the rest of the way in silence before reaching their destination a few moments later.

"Ah, there you two are. Excellent," Orin happily announced, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. His warm chocolate eyes quickly passed over Celes before he made a soft noise of obvious dislike. Without a word, Orin flicked his wand at her and smiled in clear satisfaction a moment later when her skirt lengthened to her knees.

Toby had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. She should've thought about how her dad would react to her state of dress—or lack thereof—in the first place. Wisely, he glanced away at the sight of her glare leveled on him now. He knew there had been a reason why he liked his father-in-law so much.

"I can't believe you did that," she grumped, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, you are dressed a bit too provocatively for my liking, Miss Martins," Orin chided in his usual fatherly tone. "I'd do the same to my thirty-seven year-old daughter if she dressed like that."

Without a doubt, Toby knew that Orin meant his words, too. The man likely would do that to Aurora under normal circumstances. No father wanted to see his daughter dressed like some common whore after all. No husband really did either . . . at least not around other men.

Quietly, the trio walked out of the castle and headed for the main gates. Toby remained at her side while Orin flanked them, the man's wand still in hand. The young Ravenclaw noticed how tightly Orin was holding onto his wand and frowned after a moment. The man clearly was worried about something, but Toby knew it couldn't be that Orin was expecting an attack at any moment. So something else had to be working on the man.

When the gates magically opened a moment later, Toby winced inwardly. He wished Hogwarts would have accepted his resignation when he had tendered it, because all these signs that it didn't were rather unfortunate and made him feel rather guilty inside. Dumbledore was clearly the better headmaster than him by a long shot. At least only one person had died under Dumbledore's long tenure. His brief time as headmaster had left fifty dead on the other hand.

"Huh. That's odd," Orin remarked as they quietly walked through the opened large cast-iron gates. "Must be some sort of residual effect from last year."

"Yes. Must be," Toby was quick to agree, desperately wanting the conversation to drop.

"You did re—"

"Of course I did, Celes," he sharply snapped, feeling his heart race slightly. He hadn't told her yet—or anyone for that matter—about the other day in Albus's office.

"All right then. Shall we?" Orin quietly said a few moments later as the awkward silence settled around them. He flashed a brief smile before he turned sharply and Disapparated away. Toby and Celes quickly followed suit, arriving in Diagon Alley not long after.

The narrow cobblestone street was unusually busy for six on a weeknight. Witches and wizards darted like mad in and out of various shops, bustling about as if there was a fire somewhere. Shopkeepers would yell out their specials to entice more customers before hurrying back inside.

Toby started towards the Quidditch shop at once, only to stop when Orin suddenly grabbed his arm gently. He frowned and glanced at the older man.

"Let's head to the Leaky Cauldron first, all right?" Orin softly suggested.

"Dad," she said under her breath so only they could hear her. "We can eat and talk after he gets his broom, all right?"

"I know, but I," his voice lowered slightly, "have to talk to Tom for a second."

Had Toby not been a master Legilimens, he might not have caught the fact that his father-in-law had just lied. However, he was and had loads of experience when it came to identifying the signs of a person lying, so he found himself oddly curious. He could tell that Celes hadn't caught the slight change in her father's voice, so she likely didn't even realize that her father just lied to her.

"Fine," she groaned, following Orin into the Leaky Cauldron with Toby by her side.

They walked through the busy pub, slowly heading up the stairs when it was obvious that Tom wasn't downstairs. A moment later, Orin stopped in front of a closed door and slowly opened it, ushering the young couple inside. Toby stepped closer to Celes, his arm now wrapping around her waist loosely as he moved his wrist slightly to slide his wand into his hand. They silently walked into the darkened room soon after.

"Bout damn time you show up," a gruff familiar voice called out before the candles around the room suddenly lit magically. "Thought you got lost there for a moment, Sinistra."

"Yeah, yeah, Snape," Orin replied with an amused chuckle. "Next time you can get them here."

Toby blinked as he stood staring in front of him at the three other people in the room. He then glanced at Orin before shaking his head. His father-in-law had tricked them into meeting with his parents. He supposed he could understand it, but he truly didn't like it one bit.

"Holy hell above, sis!" a young blond woman, his sister-in-law to be exact he noticed, exclaimed before she fiercely hugged her older sister. "This is what you looked like back then? Really?" The blond whistled, smiling widely. "How in the nine hells didn't you two hook up back then?"

"Oh, shut up, Jez," Celes laughed, tenderly running her hand down her younger sister's head.

Toby shifted his weight slightly and glanced towards his parents. Merlin, he felt awkward right now. He couldn't even imagine at this point what his mother would say or do. He never could really.

"Mother," he started to say before he winced instantly at the hard cuff to the back of his head.

"Now, El," his dad cut in. "Come on. He's here now. No use hitting him over it."

His mother, however, ignored his dad and harshly started in on her son. "You may be fifteen again, young man. However, I expect better behavior than that from you. Do you have any idea the thoughts that went through our heads when we received that letter today?"

"Mother—"

"No. You will listen, Severus," Eileen quickly replied, interrupting her son. Her voice hadn't risen at all, but it was quite clear how disappointed and angry she was. "For months now, you've ignored us. Not telling us anything about either of you. You've shut us out of your lives. And then today of all days we get a letter from Hogwarts stating that you were snogging that witch on Minerva's desk."

"Eileen, that was my—" Celes started.

"Silence," Eileen hissed, her eyes flashing dangerously at Celes to silence her. "I will deal with you in a moment." She raised her brow challengingly when Celes opened her mouth only to close it a second later. "Wise move." Her eyes then darted back to her son. "We understand that you've been dealing with your traumas. However, this is insane. Certifiably so. What good will honestly come from you two de-aging yourselves, acting like hormonal fifteen-year-olds again?" She held her hand up to cut Toby off. "Nothing good will come from this I assure you. All you two are doing is delaying your pain and frankly acting like cowards. Something I would not have thought about either of you honestly." Her voice then hardened, a clear sign that she was about to hit them upside the head with her blunt truth. "Deal with your pain like the rest of us and move on. _Honestly_. You two are not the first ones in the history of the world to lose a child." She then lowered her hand. "Talk."

He frowned deeply. "I am not a dog, Mother."

"Good. I'm glad you realized that," Eileen replied dryly.

"We didn't de-age ourselves to escape our pain. We did it so Celes could complete her coursework she took over the summer." He took a quick step sideways and pulled his wife further against him when he noticed Eileen start towards her.

"Coursework?" Eileen screeched, her eyes flashing dangerously. "What sort of idiot class were you taking exactly that required you to do this stupid stunt?"

"It's not an idiot class," Celes answered quietly. "It's supposed to make me more effective when it comes to my students and their problems."

"Oh, yes, clearly. By having you become one of the horrid little brats. However, I don't seem to recall the stage where one shags on a professor's desk."

"We didn't shag!" Toby argued, clenching his jaw.

"Only because Minerva returned for her grade book!"

"El, come on. Lay off them."

"Lay off them?! Tobias, you may—"

"We don't know the whole story, okay? Just sayin' that we should maybe listen to them and find out what's going on before we jump down their throats, El."

"No. What you're saying is that we should continue to use kid gloves with them. Well, I for one am not going to coddle them any longer. They're adults and should act like it."

Toby could feel Celes tense against him as his parents bickered. He went to grab her hand, only to close his eyes somberly when Celes pulled her hand back sharply. Her good day was effectively ruined thanks to his mother. Lovely.

"They should deal with their pain instead of shoving their tongues down each other's throats."

Without warning, several nearby objects in the room rattled violently as waves of raw energy came off the young witch. Celes's dark eyes, usually so full of warmth, were cold coals now. She looked like she was one moment away from strangling Eileen herself.

"Shut up! Just . . . shut . . . up!" Celes snarled, glaring at her mother-in-law. "You think it's so easy, don't you? You think you have all the answers. You don't, Eileen. You're nothing but a—"

"All right, baby girl," Orin quickly interrupted, cutting in and grabbing his eldest daughter around the waist to pull her away from Eileen. "Let's go get some air." He didn't leave any room for her to argue as he led her into adjoining room.

"Oh, yes, she's perfect for you, Severus. Absolutely perfectly crazy."

"Knock it off, Mother," he growled back. Why couldn't she just lay off for one damn day?

"Letting her sulk and feel sorry for herself will do no one any good. She lost a child, and that's tragic. But she has to move on. I'm merely giving her a shove."

"Yes, a shove off the deep end." He glanced towards the semi-closed door, just barely making out Celes and her dad. "Today was a good day for her, and you had to ruin it."

"It's been four months since that day. And you continue to treat her like glass. Well, I refuse to do that. She needs to get over her pain and move on."

"You don't think she's _trying_?" He scoffed. "Merlin. Not everyone is like you, Mother. Not all of us have the ability to shut off our emotions and not let things affect us."

"Oh, cease in the dramatics. Your wife is clearly indulging herself in some pathetic fantasy about how life is truly wonderful, all the while ignoring her own suffering. I'd imagine she's had you do the same just so it wouldn't be so difficult on her."

"She lost a child!"

"So did you, Severus, and yet you're not carrying on like that."

"It's different for me."

"Oh? How so? The child wasn't yours?"

"No," he hissed, his hand clenching into a fist by his side. "Because I didn't have seven months of feeling it grow inside me or kick me or any of the things she had. I was an outsider to all of it."

"She is not the only woman to lose a child."

"Which she knows. Hell, it's not even her first miscarriage. It's just that we went through months of her pregnancy convinced that we were going to get our little girl. Only to have her ripped away from us in the worst way possible."

"Nothing prevents either of you from trying again."

"Oh, a hell of a lot prevents us now," he growled, the words tumbling out of his mouth. "But it doesn't matter. None of that does. I have her, and that's all I need."

"If she does not deal with her loss, though, face it head on, she will drag you down with her."

"You're wrong. She _is_ dealing with it. It's just taking time. She goes to her sessions with Pomfrey, just like I do. She _is_ healing. Just please. Lay off and give her time. You pushing her like this isn't good for her."

"Well, if she's an idiot and hurts herself later, that is hardly my fault."

He clenched his jaw and shook his head. This was precisely why he didn't want his parents anywhere near his wife. He knew his mother would push and push and push until Celes snapped. He sighed inwardly when he saw through the crack Jezlyn and Orin embrace his wife warmly. When he felt his dad's heavy hand land on his shoulder, he glanced up at the older man.

"Contrary to what your mother thinks, I'm glad yer both here," his dad stated. "Know it ain't exactly nice of Orin to trick you like that, but he needed this almost as bad as we did."

"What do you mean?"

"Eh, well, far be it from me to start things," his dad said with a shrug, "but Orin left Syra."

"What?" He blinked rapidly before he glanced back through the crack towards Orin. Obviously his wife didn't know about her parents splitting. "Why did he leave her?"

"Well, sure as hell ain't going to come as a surprise to you I'm sure, but let's just say Syra showed her true colors after learning about you two losing the baby."

"She made a comment?"

"Oh, several. None I'll repeat in present company, of course."

Toby frowned and shook his head. He had only met his mother-in-law once, but that was more than enough times for him. She had called him every name under the sun and directed pure vitriol at him in those brief moments. Of course she hadn't been his mother-in-law at the time. It had been a complete accident that he had been in Aurora's rooms for a meeting when Syra and Orin showed up, but it didn't take him long to realize how much of a bitch Syra truly was.

"Let me guess. She stated that I had killed the baby and Aurora was covering for me?"

"Didn't say that one actually." His father scratched his chin and sighed. "You see, I went over there to talk to her parents. Ask them about heading over to Hogwarts together, since Pomfrey was doing her usual and telling us no to visiting you two. Syra heard me ask that and said something like Aurora ain't their daughter anymore. That their daughter had died long ago, and some bitch was now masquerading as her or some such junk. He went ballistic at that. Course it was, like, right after you two nearly died. Not even a week I'd say actually."

"I see."

"Yeah, so I've been helping him out lately. Dumbledore reckoned that job at Hogwarts might be just what he needed, too. And so far he's been right. Orin's been doing real good since he's been near you two. Course he gets his share of bad days sometimes too, but it's mostly been good."

His black eyes glanced back to the small crack where he could see his wife and sister-in-law hugging each other. "Does her sister know?"

"Jezlyn? Oh yeah. She knows," his father replied dryly. "Seems like she knew it was a long time coming, though, so she ain't all choked up over it." His father then shrugged slightly. "Orin might have left Syra, but he ain't got a bad bone in his body. He left Syra the house and everything. Said all he needed was his girls, and he'd be fine. Course it sounds like Syra just fell off the face of the planet now. So naturally Orin's been worrying about her."

He could relate with that feeling of intense dread and worry. After he had woken up in the Great Hall on May 2 to the sound of loud cheering, he nearly had to be tied down to keep from trying to find his wife. Everyone had claimed they had last seen her on the Astronomy Tower, a part of the castle that was badly destroyed. However, when people had searched it for survivors, she wasn't found. By mere accident she had been found when Harry, Weasley, and Granger entered the badly broken Headmaster's office to speak with Dumbledore's supposed portrait an hour after the Dark Lord's death.

"You all right there, son?" his father quietly asked, his kind blue eyes narrowing on the young fifteen-year-old out of clear concern.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice crackling slightly. "I'm just thinking."

"Has she hurt you, Severus?" Eileen suddenly asked, her eyes darting suspiciously at the semi-closed door before falling back on her son.

"No, Mum," he answered with a sigh. His hand ran through his messy long black hair. Some days he swore his mother was part-guard dog with the way she always kept at trying to learn the truth.

"You're hiding something," Eileen slowly stated with a fierce look of disappointment in her eyes. "It's clear as day on your face."

"How fascinating," he dryly mumbled. When he felt another sharp sting to the back of his head, his head whipped around towards his mother. "Will you stop doing that?" he snarled.

"Tell me what's going on, and I will," his mother replied coolly.

"Nothing is going on." He grabbed his mother's wrist when she went to cuff him upside the head again. "Mother. Stop it."

"You're lying, Severus. Quite obviously, too. Now, tell me what's going on."

He clenched his jaw and released her in a manner similar to a man grabbing hot coals. "We will tell you when we are ready. Not a moment before."

"Tobias, make your son answer me," Eileen ordered.

"El, come on," his dad countered. "Let's give the kids some time."

"We've given them more than enough time, Tobias." She then raised herself up to her full height. "Fine. If you won't tell me, then I'll get the answers myself." She whirled around and headed towards the closed door. When he leapt towards his mother and grabbed her arm, she brushed him off easily with a harsh look.

"Mother, I beg of you not to do this!" he hissed, trying to pull her back from the door. He groaned a moment later when the door burst open.

"What are you and my son hiding from us, girl?" Eileen demanded, looking similar to a deranged woman, which in his mind didn't take much actually.

"Hiding?" Celes softly repeated before she glanced towards her husband.

"You don't have to answer that," he said, holding her panicky look with his quiet resolute one.

"Oh, she very much _does_ have to answer that," Eileen snapped. "Did you hurt him? Is that why we're going through with this ridiculous charade? To escape your guilt?" she nastily asked.

He growled. The words burst out of him before he even had time to register what he had said. "I _hurt_ her, Mother. Not the other way around." When he saw Eileen take a step back in clear shock, he knew she had heard his words. He also noted Orin's eyes flash of anger directed at him. "Happy now? Or would you like to know the details?" he hissed.

"What do you mean, _you_ hurt her?"

"I mean just that. I lost my temper, and I slapped her as a result." He then glanced towards his father-in-law, noticing the man's understandable fury. "She thankfully left me for a bit, which I admire her for doing. I was sorely out of line. So, as soon as I could afterwards, I went to Madam Pomfrey. There is a record of it in both our files and a letter of reprimand in mine."

"You involved Dumbledore?"

"Yes. To make certain there was record of it in the case of it occurring again."

"And?" Orin cut in. "Has it happened again?"

Celes stepped towards her father and gently rested her hand on his chest. "No, Dad. It was just that one time. And he's continued to flog himself for it."

"As he should," Eileen stated harshly, glaring at her son. "I did not raise you to be a coward who beats women, Severus." She then shook her head and looked on him in pure disgust.

"He didn't beat me! It was just a slap!"

Eileen's cold black eyes darted to her instantly. "Oh?" she sneered. "Then is rape considered just sex you didn't have time to consent to, Aurora?" The young couple and Orin all flinched violently.

"You're out of line, Eileen," Orin quietly said, his voice shaking slightly. He seemed to be the only one who could open his mouth to reply.

"Hardly. Your daughter is, however, for thinking that a slap is not a serious form of abuse like rape and beatings are."

"Mother, stop it," Toby shouted at Eileen. He then caught his father grabbing her arm and shaking his head at her.

"Let me educate you, you foolish child," Eileen stated coldly, pointedly ignoring both her son and her husband. "It starts out with a slap. A sharp sting to your cheek that you dismiss as being a onetime thing. Then the next time, it's a fist against your face. A bruise you cover up the next morning. Then comes the shoving and punching as you try to get away from the fists that pound you. A broken bone that forces you to move slowly, to breathe differently, and to smile even more forcedly. Then do you know what happens afterwards? A cracked rib, you screaming doesn't stop it anymore. It all starts with that first slap, Aurora. I assure you."

Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared back at Eileen with a horrified look. "He's not like that."

"Did he apologize after he hit you?" his mother asked.

Toby's insides clenched, and he took a step back. Just what was his mother playing at exactly? Hadn't he made up for that grave mistake? He thought he had. He knew words weren't good enough, but he hadn't slapped her since. He had gone through counseling, made certain that there was record of it, and had punished himself for months after it. Just what more did his mother think he had to do?

"Yes, but he's not like that. He made certain it didn't happen again."

"It's been what, a few months since then? Hardly enough time to be—"

"No!" Celes cried. "No. You're wrong. He didn't mean to do that. He didn't mean to hurt me. I-I just pushed him and kept pushing until he snapped." She gasped for air, clearly working herself up. She brushed off both her dad and her husband. "No. No I-I have to make her understand." Her tear-filled eyes then darted back to her mother-in-law. "We're both . . . we're not right anymore. I mean, we are in a way, but then we're not." She ran a shaky hand through her long curls. "I clung to him, because I wanted our daughter back. We weren't ready, though. Neither of us. And now-now we know that we get another chance at being parents. But we're still not ready. And I keep bouncing from one mood to another, and he just holds me and tells me it'll be all right. He's been my rock through this. He wouldn't hurt me again. I know that in my heart. That's the one damn thing I know right now. That as long as I have him, it'll be all right. That we'll get through this together."

"You're pregnant?" whispered Orin, his eyes wide before he enveloped his daughter in a fierce hug. "Oh, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head. "Everything's going to be all right."

"I know. Because I have Severus," she said, glancing at her husband, "and he has me."


	13. Tempestuousness

Ominous dark clouds overhead made Toby uneasy as he silently walked towards the huddled group of Ravenclaws on the Quidditch Pitch. Was he really doing this? Was he, Severus Tobias Snape, truly trying out for Quidditch? Granted, none of the gathered students knew it was their former git of a Potions Master of course, but still. He shook his head and drew in a slow breath. He had lost his mind. That was the only plausible reason for this he could figure now. He was more of an academic than an athlete. He didn't even take after his mother with Gobstones truth be told. Yet here he was, thinking he could play Quidditch now. Honestly?

As he stepped up to the line with an old broomstick in hand, a hush settled around him instantly. He caught all of their eyes briefly and noted their obvious confusion. It likely mirrored his own. Just what was he trying to prove here exactly, he wondered. That James Potter wasn't anything special for being some stupid Quidditch star? He frowned, feeling his mood darken with the approaching storm clouds as he realized that a part of him was still in a pissing match with a dead man. One would have thought that death would have ended that, but some wounds clearly were still too great for him to let go.

"I'm here to try out," he explained when Kai Higgins, the Ravenclaw captain, caught his look.

"Really?" Kai snorted softly and ran a hand through his spiky sandy hair. "All right then." The seventh-year Quidditch captain glanced down at his clipboard. "Name?"

"Toby Brooks."

"All right, Brooks. Let's see what you can do." Kai made a quick motion at a few of the others gathered on the field to hover about the pitch for a moment. "We'll start with Chaser first and progress from there." Kai then picked the Quaffle up and tossed it to Toby. "Impress me."

Toby caught it carefully and forced a polite smile. Impress him? He wasn't even certain he could play this stupid game in the first place. Refereeing it was totally different from playing it. A moment later, though, he mounted an old broom and hovered in the air next to two others. He glanced across at the three opposing Chasers and nodded to himself. He could do this. How hard could it be after all?

A short whistle below from Kai signaled the start, and Toby was off. He zoomed left and right like a mad man as he and his teammates made their way towards the three goalposts, tossing the Quaffle back and forth amongst themselves. He reached the large posts first and inhaled sharply when he caught the Quaffle back from his teammate. Without a second of hesitation, he threw it as hard as he could towards the rounded eye-hook post and watched it sail in past the opposing Chaser who double-timed as the opposing Keeper.

Gripping his broom tightly, he quickly jerked it around to head back in the opposite direction. His dark eyes watched the Quaffle sail in the air over his head towards one of the opposing Chasers. He leaned forward and shot off like a rocket. His mind worked out possible scenarios of the opposing team as he streaked the sky after the flying Quaffle. He banked suddenly when a Bludger flew at him, narrowly missing his face. Never before in his entire life was he as grateful to Harry as he was right then. The boy he had sworn his life to protecting was now protecting him by having shown Toby little tricks the prior night on how to avoid being unseated from the wretched Bludgers.

Toby's face broke out into a large grin not long after. Years of being a Potions master had helped him learn to recognize and identify patterns. So, as he watched the opposing team pass the Quaffle back and forth in front of him, he learned their pattern. Smirking inwardly, he banked widely to the right before diving down in a corkscrew. As the opposing team passed the Quaffle once more in efforts to line of their shot, Toby suddenly dove up and snatched it from the air. He tossed it quickly back at his teammates, chuckling quietly when he saw the shock on the poor opposing Chasers who had been tossing the Quaffle between themselves.

A whistle pierced the air then and called them all back to the ground. The moment he touched down, he felt hands from all directions clapping him on the back and congratulating him. He merely grinned and nodded at his audience.

"Now, that was some fancy flying, Brooks," Kai exclaimed, laughing as they approached. "All right, so you're wicked fast. So let's see how good your eyes are." Slowly, the Ravenclaw captain brought up his hand, clearly holding something in it. Uncovering his hand a moment later, the Golden Snitch flittered about the air before Toby's face before darting off. "Bring it down to me once you get it and we'll see how quick you were that time. Got it?"

"Yeah. Got it." Toby nodded, glancing upwards at the now black sky. He grimaced when the heavens opened up a moment later, and rain poured from the sky.

"Clock starts the second you lift off," Kai stated, pulling out a small pocket watch.

Toby brushed back his long hair and sighed. This whole scene was reminiscent of Harry's third year when the Dementors decided to attack him during his Quidditch match. He wiped the rain from his eyes and pushed off, taking the stormy skies. He hovered for a moment when he got the necessary height and glanced around. A part of him hoped that he was as lucky as Harry usually was and found the damn thing right away. At the sight of lightning flashing in front of him, he inhaled sharply and decided to fly in a grid pattern.

It felt like a lifetime had passed before he finally saw the glittering gold Snitch. He shot off after it. His ears rang from the loud thunder booming all around him. Outstretching his hand towards the stupid tiny object, he tried to snatch it out of the air, only to have the Snitch dart in the opposite direction at the last moment. He growled and took off after it again.

Once more the sky lit up from a streak of lightning followed quickly by the thunderous boom. He felt his insides clench before a memory flashed behind his dark eyes. He tried to shake it away, knowing that his Occlumency barriers still weren't working properly enough to push it away. However, the memory was stronger.

_There above him were the beautiful green eyes that he loved so much. Attempting to speak around the blood that had pooled in his lungs, he rasped as he pulled the person closer, painfully recognizing that the person he held onto wasn't Lily but her son. He pleaded with the boy to take his memories, to learn the truth Harry needed, to see that Snape wasn't the traitorous bastard everyone thought he was. He wasn't certain which was leaving him faster, his blood or his memories. He felt the darkness settle in, panic gripping him at the realization that he would not make it back to his wife and unborn child. So, he rasped three little words that took all his energy to say. Yet again in his life, he found himself begging for Lily to appear as he stared deep into those green eyes of hers._

Lily, I beg you _, he thought in his seemingly last moments._ Please. Please hear me. Watch over my family, Lily. Please. Protect them as I've done with your son all these years. Please. _His body slackened then as he waited for a sign, any sign that she had heard him. There was none, though. His hand fell to the floor with a loud thump, his final breath exhaled. Once more, the green-eyed, redheaded woman of his youth whom he had devoted his life to had abandoned him in his time of need._

Toby inhaled deeply as he came quickly out of his thoughts. He felt the dizzying rush that came from being jerked from his memory. Closing his eyes, he shook his head and groaned. He had a Snitch to find. Focus was key to that. So, he rubbed at his eyes, wiping the stinging rain from his face. However, yet another flash of lightning sent him back deep into his memories, another flashback holding him hostage.

_A haunting melody of a woman singing mournfully floated around him in the darkness, her sadness seeping into every part of his frail, broken body. It was as if she was calling him to her, a beautiful siren whispering sweet promises of peace and tranquility. But he knew that his afterlife wouldn't be bliss as it was for so many others before him. He wasn't finished yet. Nor was he ready to leave his wife and unborn child behind without knowing if they were safe, alive._

_The woman's lament continued as she called him to her once more. He wasn't ready. Didn't she know that? He still had so much left to do, so much more to experience. He felt the cold tendrils of death snaking up his skin like the vines on a Tentacular plant. He wasn't ready. Not yet. He needed to know if Aurora and their daughter were all right. He needed this, to tell his family, the woman he loved that he'd always be there with her and their daughter. That they wouldn't ever be alone. The woman's melody slowly started to speed up, a crescendo clearly building._

_He then found himself bathed in green, then red, next yellow, and finally blue—each ironically a House color of Hogwarts. The four lights deeply warmed him inside, a strange strength soaking into him and giving him a feeling of renewed vigor that he required. He could feel as well intense sadness mixed with grief and anger. Brief flickers of images of people he knew flashed in his mind. He could see Fred Weasley lay across Percy's lifeless body, shaking him with all his might as Ron screamed next to them. He could see Lupin shielding Tonks from falling debris and pulling the young Auror to safety, ducking when Killing Curses were sent their way. He then watched as Neville Longbottom, a boy who had been overlooked by everyone, became a man and hacked off Nagini's head in what could only be described as Neville's one bad-ass moment. Another flash, and he saw Bellatrix in all her craziness aim for Ginny Weasley. He observed the only Weasley daughter step forward into the path of Bellatrix's Killing Curse as she yelled at her boyfriend to look out—the words dying on her lips as she fell backwards with a sick thud a moment later. Once more, an image flickered and showed him Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord with a well-executed Expelliarmus._

_Screams then tore through the air, but not from anyone in the Great Hall. More sadness seeped into him. More grief. More loss. More fear. And then hope appeared as the sun rose, bathing the Great Hall in a warm light. Next came the relief followed by a sense of finality. It was over. Finally. But the screams continued until suddenly there was a deafening silence._

" _Protect," a male murmured around him._

" _Defend," another male chanted._

" _Love," a woman spoke._

" _Rebuild," the last voice, another woman, breathed._

_Air rushed into his lungs suddenly. His eyes then burst wide open. Somber blue eyes had replaced the green of Harry's now. Then came the pain as it surged into his veins, flooding his entire body. He screamed in efforts to escape it, but only the sound of his gurgling on his blood was heard._

" _Shh, my boy," Albus Dumbledore cried, holding Snape's broken body against him. The elderly wizard's body shook from the terrible heart wrenching sobs that erupted out of him. "Shh. Oh, my sweet boy. It's over. It's over now." He ran his remaining hand over Snape in a soothing manner as he continued to sob and hold Snape against him protectively. "Oh, Severus. Please. Please forgive this old fool. I've asked too much of you over the years. Taken too much from you. Oh, my boy. Please forgive me. I was wrong. About it all. You deserved better. So much better, my boy. Forgive me."_

" _Severus!" a piercing female's scream reverberated around the shack. "SEVERUS!" She cried again, her voice starting to go hoarse he noticed._

_At first he had thought that his wife had walked in to find him in Albus's arms, all bloodied and broken. But he could tell that Albus hadn't heard the screams by the way the older wizard continued sobbing for forgiveness. So he knew then that he was hearing her through their link. He closed his eyes and focused on her, desperately wishing he could be with her and tell her that everything was all right. However, all he saw was darkness, a result of being too mentally drained to establish their connection with each other. He trembled as he heard his wife crying out his name, feeling the sadness and grief in her shaky voice._

_Without any notice, his vision blurred briefly and allowed him to see her. His heart recoiled at the sight of blood that covered her from head-to-toe. Her screams, louder now, filled his mind, piercing cries of a tortured soul. The moment he noticed her slender, bloodied hands clutching her abdomen as she curled in on herself, he felt himself be ripped from her and thrown back into the Shrieking Shack once more. Fear gripped him now as panic rushed through his veins and overpowered his own pain that flooded his neural pathways. Something was wrong with his daughter._

"Brooks, you all right?" a voice suddenly yelled beside him.

Toby gasped and quickly jerked his hand as he found himself yanked out of his memories abruptly. He realized soon after that he was still in the air, now soaked to the bone from the profuse sweating and rain. He swiped at his face and trembled faintly.

"Hey, Brooks. Did you hear me? I asked if you're all right," Kai repeated, staring at him strangely for a moment. He then blinked in understanding, his voice lowering into a compassionate tone. "You know what? Never mind. Let's get you back down on the ground." The Ravenclaw captain slowly reached across and grabbed a part of Toby's broom to help guide him down just in case something happened again.

Toby stumbled the moment he touched back down and closed his eyes. His emotions swirled like a tornado inside him. He exhaled slowly when he felt Kai's hand rest on his shoulder.

"You did good today. Go on. Hit the showers, Brooks."

He nodded numbly, not even bothering to correct Kai's poor grammar. He walked across the pitch, hearing the intense whispers from the others around him. He brushed it all off, though, barely even noticing their words.

Several minutes later, he stumbled blindly into the locker room. Like a newborn calf's, his legs were wobbly, causing him to grab the wall and feel his way to the showers. He waved his hand towards the taps and stripped down quickly, throwing the soaked clothes far from him. The second he stepped into the steady stream of water, he closed his eyes in relief. He leaned his forearms against the wall and let the warm water flow off him. He wanted to let go and forget everything. But he knew he wouldn't ever be that lucky. The memories of that day would always be with him, seared in the back of his mind. He drew in a sharp breath as a new wave of memories overtook him and forced him to recall even more.

_Groaning softly, he opened his eyes and found himself on one of the cots in the hospital wing. He drew in a shaky breath, the sharp stabbing pain nearly causing tears to fall from his eyes. He then noticed Madam Pomfrey step into his line of sight._

" _Don't try to speak. Your vocal chords were badly damaged." The matron then glanced down somberly before she glanced back up at him, her eyes misty. "I-I'm so sorry." When he shot up in efforts to find his wife assuming the worst, Pomfrey quickly pushed him back down. "Aurora's alive, Severus, but I have her heavily sedated right now. Please. Lay back before you undo all my work."_

_His eyes darted to her, as if to ask her to explain what was going._

" _She was attacked by several men in your office. It seems that she was tortured first and then beaten." Pomfrey closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "I'm afraid the damage was too great to your unborn daughter. I tried everything, but I couldn't save her. I'm sorry, Severus."_

_He stared at the matron numbly, trying to make sense of everything she was saying. He then blinked and let out a sigh of relief. Aurora was alive. Hurt badly it sounded like, but she was alive. He hadn't lost her. They had both survived. Felix Felicis, he was grateful for that. He still had Aurora._

" _I haven't informed her yet about the baby. I'm not quite certain how to, I admit." Pomfrey wiped a few tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know this is a—Oh, Severus. You could've trusted me. You could've been a part of the pre-natal exams. I wouldn't have excluded you from that, regardless of my stupid anger about Albus's supposed death. There was no reason you had to be excluded from that. I know it's not—that it doesn't help now, but . . . truly, I'm sorry."_

The memory faded then, and he soon found himself sitting on the shower floor with his knees against his chest. The tears feel freely from his eyes, mixing with the warm water. When he had woken up that day in the hospital wing, he had been so scared and worried that he'd be told that he had lost his wife, the woman he loved with all his heart, the one who was different. Oddly enough, it had been a relief to hear Pomfrey inform him that only their unborn daughter died. He supposed he hadn't processed it then and still hadn't to that day actually. He had Aurora. That was all he needed.

"Toby?" Celes's voice floated into the locker room a few minutes afterwards.

He stifled his sobs quickly, forcing his tears back. He had to be strong for her. None of this crying crap. He swiped at his eyes and attempted to push himself back up. Only his legs wouldn't cooperate, so sitting on the floor against the back shower wall it was.

When she pulled back the hazy shower curtain soon after, he forced a sheepish smile at her.

"You do know this is the boy's locker room, right?" he joked half-heartedly, swallowing back more of his tears. He watched her eyes soften instantly before she stepped in, fully dressed, and knelt in front of him, grabbing his hands and squeezing them gently as the water soaked her.

"Oh, my prince," she whispered, using her silly little name she had called him privately when they were dating—a name that he had grown to like eventually since it was a throwback to his half-blood prince moniker he had called himself when he was younger. She then sat beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder in a comforting one-armed hug.

He leaned his head against her shoulder and sniffled. "Look at me. Sniveling like some hapless toddler. Pathetic, isn't it?"

"No," she murmured, running her fingers tenderly through his long hair.

He scoffed, drawing in a shaky breath. "Liar," he mildly replied, closing his eyes and savoring her loving strokes. She had always somehow calmed his soul in ways no other woman could. Lily never even tried he would have decided if he were ever honest about her.

"Talk to me. Please," she softly pleaded. "Let me in again."

"I can't," he quietly admitted.

"Why?"

"It's my cross to bear, Celes, not yours."

"You're wrong, love." She paused for a few moments and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. "It's _ours_. Remember? You and me. We're a team now."

"You have enough to worry about," he argued, feeling the tension in her.

"Then help me by letting me in again so I can cross one of my things to worry about off."

He half-snorted. "You're a terrible Slytherin."

"I know. That's why I'm a Hufflepuff, remember?" she reminded with a faint smile.

He sighed, drawing in a slow calming breath. "I'm a monster."

"No you're not, love."

"I am." He grabbed his wet locks of hair and tugged on them to produce pain so he could focus more on his words. "Merlin, do you know that when I learned about our—about _her_ , my first emotion wasn't grief or sadness that instead it was relief. Relief, Celes. You've been tearing yourself up inside over her, and I've just been carrying on like it was nothing, like your pain is nothing."

"You haven't," she countered.

"I have." He frowned as he thought about his wording for a moment. "Each time I think to myself about how lucky we are, I'm practically screaming how I didn't care about her, about you being hurt so deeply by your loss." He scoffed. "Did you hear me just now? I said 'your loss.' As if I wasn't her father either. Merlin," he growled at himself.

"That doesn't make you a monster." When he started to argue, she cut him off before he could even get a word out. "No. Listen to me. We barely saw each other last year. You were busy being headmaster, rescuing the students from the Carrows, and helping Harry. I was just keeping my head down like we agreed, so no one would figure out about us. Sure I told you everything Pomfrey said, but at the end of the day we weren't together. We couldn't be without risking someone finding out. It was a sacrifice we had to make."

"For the Greater Good," he dryly said, shaking his head.

"Yeah." She sighed. For several minutes, it was silent as the water fell on them. "Toby?"

"Yes?"

"I fucking hate the Greater Good."

He chuckled, unable to help himself. "Me too, love. Me too." There was something about his wife that he just couldn't ever find the right words to use to describe her. Their relationship that spanned from a rocky friendship to a secret marriage was all roses and thorns honestly. Bickering and bantering back and forth—oh, they had fought against their obvious attraction at first, but like all things, they soon surrendered to it as idle curiosity took over. Wounds that ran deep in both of them were soon healed by the other. A friend, an ally, a confidant, a partner all wrapped up in the word 'lover.'

"Toby?" she said a little later after their skin had become all wrinkly.

"Yeah?" he replied quietly, snuggling against her.

"You're naked," she giggled.

"Yeah, and your point?" he laughed, pulling her further against him so that she nearly straddled his lap. He smiled when she turned, and her lips brushed against his. He swore her kisses were Phoenix tears. Lightly, he traced her lips with his tongue, tasting the sweet lip gloss once again. His fingers gently ran up and down her back as he continued his sweet loving of her. However, it was not to be he soon found out when someone's throat was harshly cleared above them behind the shower curtain.

"If you two are quite finished in there," McGonagall said dangerously, "kindly remove yourselves from this shower immediately."

Toby winced as he felt Celes stifle a laugh into his neck. This truly wasn't funny in the slightest. They were breaking every rule of decorum in the book and seemingly flaunting it. This would, in fact, be the second time they had been caught.

"Yes, Professor," he replied dutifully, lightly smacking his wife's bum when she continued to laugh silently against him. Merlin above, his mother was going to murder him over this. He grabbed Celes's outer robes when she offered them and quickly covered up with them before they emerged from the shower. He glanced down, feeling his cheeks redden at the sight of the gathered students in the doorway to the locker room looking in curiously.

"Headmaster's office. _Now_ ," McGonagall barked, giving them both a severe look of disgust.

Toby nodded slowly and stooped to pick up his clothes as he walked past the pile. When he felt the slender hand slip into his a moment later, he seriously could have murdered Celes right then. He heard McGonagall's soft growl of annoyance behind them and winced again. While he was rather glad that his wife was enjoying herself immensely, he was rather worried about how this would all end up.

As they walked through the onlooking students, he heard the frequent whispers.

"Do you think they really did it in there?" one student asked another.

"Look at him. What do you think?" another student replied.

"Lucky git," yet another student exclaimed. "Getting that piece of fine—"

"Merlin, he's my idol."

Toby groaned inwardly as he heard the students. Really, their behavior was nothing to look up to. It was atrocious. Fun as hell, but appalling.

"I wonder if he's any good at it," a female student asked.

"Obviously he is. I mean, she can't seem to get enough of him. Did you hear about the other day? They snogged on McGonagall's desk."

"Wow." Several students nearby laughed. "Wicked."

"I suggest everyone return to their common rooms _now_ ," hissed McGonagall, "before your Houses are left with no points."

That scattered the crowd instantly. Toby continued walking forward towards the castle, raising an eyebrow when he caught Harry's wide grin as the other young man stood off to the side with Luna. Honestly. This was nothing to be proud of. His breath then caught in the back of his throat when he felt Celes kiss his cheek with a soft giggle.

"Miss Martins!" McGonagall growled. "Cease in that immediately."

"Yes, Professor," she replied, not bothering to turn around to address the other witch.

They walked in silence the rest of the way. They marched up the staircases before they finally reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"Password?" the gargoyle drawled.

"Pop Rocks," McGonagall answered behind them a moment later.

The gargoyle frowned and shook its head. "Password?" it repeated.

"Pop Rocks," she growled back, glaring at the gargoyle.

"Wrong."

"What do you mean, 'Wrong?' It is not," she barked. "Albus changed it this morning."

"I know, but he's not—"

The sounds of heavy footfalls then echoed as someone rushed down the corridor. Toby turned his head and quickly glanced down at the floor at the sight of his father-in-law running towards them.

"Minerva, wait!" Orin called out.

The Transfiguration professor sharply turned towards the older wizard and sighed. "Not now."

"Please. Just hear me out, Min."

"This doesn't concern you, Orin. This is a matter between the headmaster and them."

"Huh?" The salt-and-pepper wizard took a step back and glanced at the young couple. His eyes then narrowed on them. "What'd they do?"

"Oh? You haven't heard yet?" McGonagall bitterly asked, anger seeping into her cold voice. "They were caught in the showers together."

Orin coughed loudly. "What?"

"You heard me. These two continue to flaunt their rule breaking—"

"Now, Min." Orin lowered his voice slightly. "Come on. You remember what it was like being in love. You get caught up in the moment, especially when you're young like them."

"That doesn't excuse their behavior!"

"No. It doesn't, but do we really need to jump to expulsion over this?"

"I caught them snogging on my desk, Orin! On my desk! And now this happens!"

"So, they're really in love," he said with grimace, tugging on his earlobe.

McGonagall glared at him before she huffed. "I am not going to stand by and wait for the day where she ends up pregnant!"

Celes giggled, much to Toby and Orin's utter horror. Toby quickly turned his hand and squeezed his wife's wrist painfully. It, however, didn't stop her in the slightest.

"Too late," the young Hufflepuff said in a sing-song voice.

The stern Deputy Headmistress gasped before she grabbed her chest and stared at Celes in sheer shock. Her eyes then darted to Orin before they fell on Toby.

"You're . . . you two . . ." Her green eyes then flashed dangerously as her jaw clenched.

Orin quickly stepped in between Minerva and Celes. "Now, it's not what you think, Min. I promise you." He drew in a quick breath. "It was a little unsettling to me at first too, but really it's not what you think that's going on."

"Not what I think?!" She then pointed at Toby and Celes, who were standing behind Orin silently. "They're fifteen years old! They don't know anything about raising a child, the sacrifices they'll have to make. They're practically throwing their lives away. And with you condoning it as them just being in love, you're practically giving others the right to make the same mistake!" She huffed angrily and glared at him. "Honestly, I thought you were smarter than this, Orin."

"I am. Under different circumstances, I'd agree with you, but I can't in this case. Just trust me."

Her green eyes narrowed briefly before her lips thinned even more. "This young lady could've been your daughter, Orin. Hell, Aurora _was_ pregnant when she was fifteen. Would you have been so ready to jump to their defense then? Your eldest daughter, fifteen and pregnant?"

"Oh, come on. That was totally different from this!" Celes argued before she blinked and bit her lip in clear regret afterwards when McGonagall's head snapped towards her. "Crap."

This was seriously getting out of hand in Toby's mind. So reacting instinctively, he glanced at the gargoyle and watched the stone statue quickly slide to the side to allow them inside. McGonagall stepped back suddenly and glanced at Toby in confusion, her hand quickly reaching for her wand.

"It's empty, sir," the gargoyle quietly announced to Toby.

"Min, let's step inside the office, all right?" Orin gently said. He frowned when her eyes darted to his, the mistrust showing clearly. "Please. Just trust me again. It's all right. I promise." She blinked before she glanced towards the young couple and slowly followed, her hand still on her wand.

The minute the door closed behind them a moment later, cutting them off from the rest of the castle, Orin cleared his throat and glanced at the couple as he waited for them to speak, but Toby kept his lips firmly pressed together. There was no way in hell the young Ravenclaw was going to touch this with a ten foot pole.

McGonagall glanced at each of them for a moment before her eyes fell on the salt-and-pepper haired wizard. "Orin?" she said breathlessly, shock not even coming close to describe her feelings right then. Her eyes were wide.

Orin winced and tugged on his earlobe again. "Yes, Min?"

"What the hell is going on?" the Gryffindor quietly asked. "How'd he open the door and how'd she know that?" Her face showed the state of chaotic emotions swirling about her. "What's going on? Answer me." Her voice was full of hurt and betrayal and obvious confusion.

"Maybe you should sit down first," he gently said, clearly delaying the inevitable for a bit longer.

"Do not treat me like I am some heart patient, Orin," McGonagall snapped. Her nostrils flared as her eyes darkened. "Answer me. How did he, a fifteen-year-old boy," she demanded, pointing at Toby, "open that door when Albus has been having nothing but trouble with it ever since his return?"

"I don't know, Min. You'd have to ask him that," Orin answered softly. His warm brown eyes briefly flickered to Toby before his frown deepened and he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "She knows it's different because Celes _is_ Aurora, Minerva. They de-aged themselves."

" _What_?" McGonagall glanced at the young couple before she turned back to him. She then smacked the older wizard hard against the face. "For days now you've let me worry about them when you knew—you _KNEW_ —they were all right."

Orin silently rubbed his reddened cheek and sighed. "See that's not true, Minerva. I told you they were fine each time you told me that you were worried. You just didn't want to take my word about it."

"Don't you dare blame this on me, Orin Sinistra," the Head of Gryffindor growled as she pointed her finger at him warningly.

"I'm not. It's just that the kids are doing an experiment or something for Aura's class. They're observing everyone's reactions, honest reactions, and recording it. I couldn't tell you without ruining that for them."

"You lied to me."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Fine. I suppose you're right and I did, but I had to in order for them to get honest results." Orin's shoulders slumped as he seemed defeated now. His eyes closed in pain before he shook his head. "I swear it wasn't to hurt you, though. I mean, ask Aura. I told her last night to knock it off with the crap she was pulling around you. I saw how frustrated you were getting about this whole Celes thing. You know that. I was there with you every night you were ranting to me about it. Remember?"

"You could've told me, Orin."

Toby shifted his weight silently and exhaled heavily. He glanced through his long hair towards his wife and caught her ashamed look as she glanced down at the floor. If what Orin said was true and that the man had told Celes to knock it off, Toby assumed that was when Celes was with her father and sister in the other room earlier that night.

"It was our fault, not his, Minerva," Toby quietly interrupted. "We asked him not to tell anyone. He was just following our request." He caught the witch's fierce look and sighed. "If you want someone to be mad at, be mad at us."

"Oh, I assure you, Severus Snape, I am mad at both of you," she snapped, glaring at both him and Celes. "Whatever thing you've set out to accomplish here, whether that to make Hogwarts a—"

"No," Celes cut in. "My research isn't meant to ridicule anyone. Hell, I'm not even certain what we'll find at the end of this experiment." She sighed. "Like I said in my note to you earlier, I'm lost and stumbling around now trying to find my way again." She rubbed her face. "It's strange but it's oddly enough therapeutic to be this fifteen-year-old snotty brat who pisses off her professors for the hell of it. For months now, I've had everyone treat me like I'm a piece of glass ready to shatter at a moment's notice or a powder keg ready to ignite. I mean, you and Septima keep fussing over me, and it just . . . I don't—I just want to feel normal again. Happy and in love. That's all. And I am as Celes Martins. I'm happier than I've been in months. And I know that's crazy. Pomfrey tells me constantly that it's not healthy for me to try and disassociate myself from my true self, but I don't want to be Aurora right now. I just want to be a fifteen-year-old girl who has fun and is happy. That's it."

Toby closed his eyes as he heard Celes's admission. He had a feeling that was the case, but he wasn't ever going to push it and find out for certain. He was in the boat of ones who treated her like glass now, but he honestly knew he couldn't live with himself if he hurt her again.

"Oh, sweetheart," Minerva quietly whispered, her eyes losing their hardened edge.

Celes's voice cracked slightly as she begged, "Please don't. It really doesn't help me. Not this time." Her arms then wrapped around her midsection protectively, and her breathing started to turn into quick, short, panicky breaths. "It just brings back so much crap I don't want to remember." Her eyes remained fixed on the empty portrait where Dumbledore had been in the previous year.

"Aurora, please listen to me." The older woman sighed softly. "You are going to have to deal—"

"Not now I don't," Celes replied shortly. "I can forget it ever happened and just make certain that it's better this time. Please, Minerva. Just let me do this. Let me be 'Celes' for a bit longer."

"The behavior you've exhibited lately, however, is grounds for expulsion," McGonagall stated with a sad sigh. Her green eyes then fell on Toby for a moment before she looked away. "And judging by the other professors' opinions about you as of late, you likely would be expelled immediately and sent home. Away from him."

"But that's not fair!" Celes argued as Toby and Orin remained silent.

"My dear, it's not about fairness," Minerva stated quietly. "You've broken numerous rules over the past two months. You've skipped most of your classes."

"Because Pomfrey wouldn't let me out of the damn hospital wing. That's it!"

"No. That's not it, and you know that," Orin said, cutting in gently.

Toby frowned instantly. He glanced between Orin and Minerva, wondering what he was missing. He then noted Celes's sudden tension, recognizing that she was likely going to run soon.

"She wouldn't let me leave, Dad!"

"Only because she, like me, is worried about you. You're not letting any of us in, baby girl." Orin then sighed, looking at Toby. "I'd bet you aren't even letting him in anymore either."

"Well, then you'd lose that bet," Celes snapped, taking a step back from all of them.

"Oh? Then you've told him why you were seen heading towards another man's rooms?"

Toby stiffened instinctively. It still unsettled him greatly to hear that. Drawing in a slow breath, though, he stepped towards Celes.

"That's enough. Please?" Toby sighed, looking sadly towards Celes. He gave her a smile encouraging smile to let her know that everything would be all right before holding his hand out to her. He could see the fear in her eyes as she stared back, knowing that she was scared that they'd push her to the breaking point. When she finally slipped her hand into his, he felt himself relax in response. "Our behavior, as of late, has been atrocious. We admit that, Minerva. And it likely does deem expulsion. On both of our parts. Because I assure you that I will not willingly leave her side ever again. We've had more than our share of time apart over the years." He then drew in a breath. "All in the name of Albus's Greater Good, in fact." He caught Minerva's flinch instantly. "So, if you believe that is the next course of action, then I believe Celes and I have some packing to do." He slowly turned to lead Celes and him to the door, hearing the fury of whispers from the portraits behind them.

"That won't be necessary," Minerva called out as his hand touched the doorknob.

Toby stopped in mid-step, smiling inwardly. Like candy from a baby. "Then, we'll see you later in Transfigurations, Professor McGonagall." And with that, they left.


	14. Rumor Has It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been completely redone than the previous version. So, if you had read my previous version of "Rumor Has It" back in October, please reread this chapter. In fact, I've changed numerous things in the previous chapters and deleted some subplots that just weren't working for me. Hopefully, this chapter is up to my usual par. If not, please tell me. I love feedback and actually feed off it. :) That being said, enjoy.

Sitting on one of the comfortable blue sofas in the Ravenclaw common room, Toby flipped another page of his Arithmancy text with a heavy sigh. Celes was having her session with Pomfrey currently, so he was forced to be good and work on schoolwork. In other words, to say he was bored was an understatement. He had already completed next week's reading with follow-along notes and had moved onto the week after that week's. However, he quickly found himself daydreaming while reading all about the magical number of three and all of its _amazing_ properties.

"All right. All right," announced a laughing seventh-year as he entered the common room.

Toby's eyes wandered over to Kai who walked in with a mass of people following. His eyes narrowed on the parchment in Kai's hand before he quickly looked away. Kai had finished the roster for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Finally. After a week of waiting. Not that Toby really cared, of course.

At the sound of the excited chatter after Kai pinned the roster to the bulletin board, Toby sighed heavily again as his finger tapped silently against the frayed text in his hand. A part of him wanted to get up and look over the roster just to see who was on the team this year. However, another part forced him to remain firmly seated on the sofa. After all, the odds of him being selected for the team were slim to none. So honestly what did it matter who was on the team?

"It's funny how we wish it was us when we're on the outside looking in, isn't it?" Luna softly said behind him.

Toby glanced at her and raised a brow. "Is that right?"

"Quite," she replied, nodding with a faint smile. She then held out a magazine. " _Quibbler_?"

He snorted and shook his head, returning to his Arithmancy.

"Are you sure? It's the Hero of Hogwarts edition."

"That's all right. I've spoken to Harry enough to realize that there's more than what was likely written in there."

"But it's not about Harry."

He blinked and slowly glanced at the dishwater blonde. "Excuse me?"

"The article isn't about Harry. It's about the true hero of the story." She smiled. "The hero everyone should have heard about."

"You're joking." Good god, he hoped she was.

She smiled a little bigger. "Dad made sure it was even bigger than his past issues."

"Oh, Merlin," he groaned, pushing himself up off the sofa to stand. Detention was sounding real good right about now. Anywhere actually sounded better than there.

"Good idea. You never know when the Chirpers might find you," Luna said happily behind him.

He merely shook his head, though, and left the common room. Walking with his hands in his jeans pockets several moments later, he headed towards the Transfiguration courtyard. The corridors were bustling with students rushing to their next class or after a friend. He found himself sidestepping a lot to avoid any collisions with these otherwise preoccupied adolescents and bit his tongue to keep from snapping at them as a result. He was Toby now, not Professor Snape. Something he had to keep reminding himself, lest slip up and ruin it all.

Finding himself standing in front of the Transfiguration classroom door a moment later, he sighed inwardly and knocked gently. When the door opened soon after, he forced a polite smile to his face before he glanced back down at the ground as he stood awkwardly in front of Minerva.

"You're early today," she remarked quietly.

He shrugged, following her inside the empty classroom. "Didn't have anything better to do." He heard her subsequent snort almost at once.

"No. I don't suppose you do." Minerva then pointed towards a nearby desk. "Your assignment is already laid out for you."

He nodded slowly and walked over to the desk she had pointed to. His eyes briefly caught the opened chapter's title before he looked away. There were worst things she could've made him read. He then set off to reading all about dark matter and its effect on magic.

"Mister Brooks?" Minerva called out almost an hour later.

Since he was fairly used to hearing his pseudonym now, he merely glanced back at McGonagall, noticing that she had been grading essays while he had been reading silently. "Yeah?" He noted her brow raising quickly afterwards, but he ignored it.

"I must admit that your behavior as of late has vastly improved."

He snorted and shrugged, leaning back in the small desk chair and stretching. "Thanks, I guess."

She shook her head then. "I still find it unsettling how easy you've adapted to all this."

"It has nothing to do with being easy," he countered, running a hand through his raven hair. "It's just something I have to do." He shrugged a second later. "But I suppose I can see your point."

She laughed softly, adding another parchment to her ever-growing pile on her desk. "Tell me. How are things with you and Celes?"

He couldn't prevent the sigh from escaping his lips.

"That well, I take it?" she asked with a polite smile.

"It's not like that. It's just—well, she's not the same." He quickly cut her off when he saw her mouth open. "I know what you'll say. That of course she's different now. But that's not what I mean."

"Then, what do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to explain." He then drew in a slow breath. "I've tried talking to her, but she doesn't want to have anything to do with that. So I don't push her."

"Because you care about her."

"No," he replied, his eyes quickly meeting McGonagall's. "It's because I love her."

She smiled faintly. "Well, unfortunately, sometimes you have to push. Even if you love her. She'll likely lash out, of course, but sometimes it's the right thing to do."

He scoffed. "Yeah, and how'd that work out for you the other day, Minerva?" He knew all about her pushing session with Celes the other day, having heard all about it from Harry.

McGonagall sighed quietly. "Not as well as I had hoped, I admit, but it proved that she'd listen to you a hell of a lot more than she'd listen to me now. I'm just urging you to try. That's all."

"Fine. I'll try again," he answered as he flipped back a few stray locks of loose hair.

"That's all I ask for because I want her back just as much as you do." If only it was that easy.

* * *

After eating dinner in the Great Hall and noting with a pang that Celes wasn't there again, Toby wandered back to his common room. He briefly entertained the idea of heading over to the Hufflepuff dorms and demanding to see her, but knew that wouldn't help matters. She needed time.

"Hey, did you hear about—" someone asked in the corridor outside the Ravenclaw dorm.

"Do you think it's true?" someone else whispered as Toby walked past.

His eyes narrowed briefly, but he continued on his way.

"Of course it's true. Leanne saw it with her own eyes," another voice added to the mix.

Deciding to figure out just what they were all gossiping about, while having the sick feeling in his gut that he already knew, he approached the small group. He noted a few of them stiffen when he reached them a moment later.

"What are you all talking about?" Toby inquired, glancing among them.

"Uh, well, um, it's just—" stuttered a third-year.

"You wouldn't understand," a sixth-year Ravenclaw proclaimed loudly.

Toby frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Try me."

A young man in his year snorted. "All right. Don't say we didn't try to tell you."

"Just spit it out, Anthony," Toby grumbled, trying desperately not to sneer at him.

"Well, it seems McGonagall and Sinistra are quite close with each other."

Toby bit his cheek to keep the snort back. _That_ was their breaking news? That Aurora and Minerva were close to one another? And his colleagues wondered why he thought the horrid brats were idiots. He shook his head, though.

"I don't follow."

A tall brunette smiled shyly before speaking then. "As in they're an item, Toby."

He blinked and stared at them dumbfounded. "What?"

"All right, so, Leanne said she was going to see Mr. Sinistra about some help with an essay or something earlier," a sixth-year girl said with a wide smile. "Well, she heard him sounding rather upset in his office, you know? So, naturally she went to investigate to find out what was going on."

"Naturally," Toby replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, she gets to the door and hears him calling McGonagall by her first name."

"Yeah, and it wasn't just Minerva. It was _Minerva_. Like with the sexy tone, you know?" Leanne finally said, cutting in. "Like they know each other really, really, really well."

Toby stared at them, unable to speak. This is what his students contemplated during their free time? No wonder the horrid brats failed half of their classes all the time.

"Are you honestly suggesting that they're having an affair?" He noticed most of them shrug with devious smiles. "You're mad. All of you."

"We are not!" argued the group.

"Yeah! I mean, how else do you explain the way that she had her arms around him, Toby?" Anthony interjected with a self-satisfied look on his face.

"They're friends. That's it."

"I don't know, man. They hug like you and Celes."

"Kiss like you two, too," Leanne piped up.

His mouth dropped. Orin and Minerva? He could see close friends, definitely, but lovers? No. Leanne must have misunderstood something. After all, she was a hormonal adolescent.

"It was why he was upset, I think. Because his wife is missing, and there he is snogging McGonagall in the Defense office."

"You're all mad," Toby whispered, staring at them dumbfounded. His head was swimming now, and it was definitely not in a good way. While a part of him was semi-glad that his father-in-law was making an attempt to move on from that bitch of a wife of his to someone who truly was, in all connotations of the word, a mother to Aurora, another part of Toby was rather annoyed by this. After all, it wasn't like he didn't already have his hands full with Celes as it was. No. Of course not. Orin and Minerva now wanted to add a new stepmother to the mix, it seemed.

"Utter madness," he grumbled under his breath as he stormed away from the tower.

As he walked through the corridors once more, he found himself heading in the general direction of the hospital wing this time. He paused for just a moment at this realization before he shook his head. Minerva was right. He likely could push Celes a bit more than the others could in order to get her to talk. It was something they frequently had done with one another when they were just friends, in fact.

He kicked the ground a moment later. It was different now, though. They weren't just friends anymore. He had let her in deeper than anyone else had been before, and he guessed the same was true the opposite way as well. They knew each other's deepest, darkest secrets. The ones they could voice at least. She knew how guilt had nearly consumed him whole after Lily's death, while he knew the true reason she had joined the Order—the darkness that had blanketed her soul for so long.

At the sound of someone approaching rapidly from the far end of the corridor, Toby glanced up from the floor and watched Harry run towards him. He walked faster, feeling his heart constrict as terrible thoughts ran through his head.

"What's wrong?" Toby asked, looking the young man over. Harry seemed to be physically all right. No visible injuries. The young man's eyes were a bit brighter than usual, too.

"I can't believe it!" Harry exclaimed, staring at him in utter disbelief.

"Believe what?" When the Gryffindor did a perfect fish out of water impression, Toby frowned. Could it be that they were all wrong and the Dark Lord had once again slithered his way out of death? "Spit it out, Potter."

"You made the Quidditch team!"

Toby blinked before he snorted. The tension quickly left his body. That was what had the young man all worked up? That he had made the Quidditch team?

"Next time, spare me the dramatics and just say it, Harry," he quietly remarked, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that he had even entertained the idea of the Dark Lord returning for even a second. That was positively ridiculous.

The young man smiled faintly, glancing down at the ground. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"As if I'm ever scared," Toby drawled, the silkiness of his voice floating around them.

"Yeah, yeah, I forgot." Harry laughed. "So, how are you and Celes going to celebrate?"

"Celebrate?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, to celebrate you making the team."

Toby shrugged, shaking his head. He glanced towards one of the broken windows, watching a tree sway in the breeze. "I don't think we will. She's got enough on her mind, you know?"

"I don't know. It might be a good distraction for a bit. At least that's what I've found." Harry then laughed shortly. "I didn't really think this summer that I'd be up to playing Quidditch this year and, you know, act like everything's all right. But I started thinking after our talk the other day, and I realized that I'd be letting him win if I just let my life move past me."

"Wise words," Toby commented quietly.

"Yeah, well, I'm no Ravenclaw." Harry smiled faintly. "Plus, when we were talking about it that day on the bench, it seemed like it was something she enjoyed."

Toby couldn't hold back his loud laughter. "Oh, Potter. Trust me. She hates Quidditch with a passion. She finds it utterly barbaric."

"That may be, but she was sure cheering you on the other day during your tryouts."

"Really?" That was news to him. "Odd."

"Oh, come on, Toby," Harry said with a laugh, clapping him on the back. "Don't tell me with all your years of experience that you haven't figured out that Quidditch players are like lust potions."

He snorted, rolling his eyes. Harry unfortunately was right. Deep down, Toby did know that there was something rather attractive about Quidditch players. More often than not, a member of the Quidditch team was involved in a romantic relationship statistically speaking.

"What are you saying exactly, Potter?"

"Go find Celes and celebrate. Hell, we both know that you two need more good in your lives." Harry shrugged. "So go and enjoy it, Toby." His green eyes then darted about the empty corridor. "I mean, if anyone deserves to be a cocky son of a bitch raising a little hell around here, it's you."

He smiled and laughed. "If you say so." He then ran a hand through his raven hair. "Maybe I will go tell her. It can't hurt, can't it?"

"Nope." Harry then returned a faint smile. "I'll see you later."

Toby nodded and turned away, heading for the nearest stairs. His head swam with various thoughts as he headed towards the Hufflepuff common room. Would today be a good day for her? Those days were rare for her now, he knew. Every now and then he would see the woman he had fallen for all those years ago. She was just underneath the surface, clawing her way out of the darkness. If only he could take her heartbreak, her pain. That had been his mantra for months now. But he knew he couldn't. All he could do was be there and support her. It was _his_ turn now.

He frowned a moment later when he noticed the tall curly-haired boy blocking the entrance to the Hufflepuff dorm. Finch-Fletchley. Oh, how he wished he could just punch that boy some days.

"She's not here," the Hufflepuff coldly stated.

Toby raised a brow before he shook his head. "Thanks, I guess. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you. Not after what you did to her."

He clenched his jaw to keep the vitriol from exploding out of him. Just what the hell was Finch-Fletchley's problem this time? Had the boy forgotten his dear plants again?

" _Excuse me_?" Toby growled through his grit teeth.

"Don't play coy, Brooks. We all know. How you're allowed to remain here after—"

"I would be very careful in my wording if I were you," Toby snarled, ready to hex him to hell and back for the level of disrespect Justin was giving him.

"That's enough, you two!" a loud voice yelled behind Toby a moment later.

He whirled around and caught Granger and Malfoy rushing towards them with their wands drawn. Clearly the two missed the fact that even a Head Girl couldn't use magic to discipline students. He quickly stood down, though.

"Go back to your dorm, Justin," Granger softly said a second later.

"He shouldn't even be allowed to go here anymore. He's bad news," Justin snapped.

"That's not for you to decide," retorted Draco. "So, just do as she asked and go back in there."

"Or what? You'll hex me?" Justin scoffed. "You think you're so amazing now, don't you? Well, I've got news for you, Malfoy. Just because you're shagging Granger now, that doesn't mean that we haven't forgotten who you really are. You may have her and the staff fooled, but we know what a despicable git you are."

Having heard quite enough from the mouthy Hufflepuff, Toby couldn't hold back his instinctive urge to hurl insults. "At least he has a girlfriend, Finch-Fletchley. All you have is your pathetic little fantasies about a professor." He noted gleefully the color rapidly leaving the Hufflepuff's face. "Tell me. Is it true what they say?" His malicious smile deepened. "That your—let's say—'wand' rose in her presence? My, my. Hot for teacher, are we?" He chuckled darkly. "Too bad she's married to that greasy bat, hmm?"

With no warning, a swift punch hit Toby square in the mouth. He reeled back slightly and growled in annoyance, but quickly forced the smile back to his face. He could taste the coppery blood on his lips as it flowed, but he stood there perfectly still and enjoyed his moment of victory as Finch-Fletchley turned and ran back into his common room. Served the little bastard right.

After a moment, Toby then wiped the blood from his face and sighed. He'd pay for that dearly when the truth came out later. But for now, he'd bask in the glory of the moment. His eyes darted towards Granger and Draco, waiting for either of them to comment on his actions.

"Uh, wow, okay." Malfoy then shook his head. "If I would've known that, I'd probably have said that to him, too. Fifty points to Ravenclaw."

"Draco!" Hermione cried, frowning in clear disapproval at him.

"If you two are quite finished," Toby sighed, "I'm looking for Celes Martins, my . . . girlfriend." He saw Granger's face fall instantly, feeling his gut contract once more. "What is it?"

"She's in the hospital wing."

"What? Why?" Toby asked, glancing between them.

"I don't know. I saw her there earlier when I went to talk to Madam Pomfrey."

Wasting no more time, Toby took off, rushing down the corridor towards the hospital wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for an evil cliffhanger?


	15. Shifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the favorites and follows for this story. I truly appreciate it. "Rising" is one of my favorites, I admit. Mostly because it has so much potential. Unfortunately, though, and I'm sure you've noticed this by now, this story's bunny fights me a lot and makes it so I can't update as often or write as much as I'd like. Real life is the other big issue. That being said, enjoy the ups and downs of this chapter.

Bursting into the hospital wing, Toby instantly came to a screeching halt at the sight of Celes on a nearby cot. His mouth dropped uncharacteristically. She was…fine. His brows furrowed ever more then before he glanced about the large room. What in the world was going on?

"Celes?" he said hesitantly, obviously unsure of himself.

"Hmm?" she replied, glancing up from the magazine she had been leafing through. The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. "Toby! What are you doing here?"

He blinked followed by swallowing nervously. Was all this a hallucination maybe?

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. "What? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know." He then looked around the hospital wing again, attempting to see if anyone else was around. "I was told you were in the hospital wing."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. And here I am. In the hospital wing." She laughed a moment later when he didn't reply. "Toby? What's going on?"

"I-I don't know." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his long black hair. "I thought something was wrong," he admitted quietly. "Obviously, I was mistaken."

She smiled softly and reached for his hand. "I'm fine. Just here because I stupidly worked myself up earlier unfortunately."

He looked her over briefly before he sat in the chair beside her cot. "I don't follow."

"It's actually a rather stupid story, but Slughorn handed back our exams the other day."

"I'm aware." He had received an 'Exceeds' on his exam, much to his surprise.

"Well, I didn't look at mine until today."

"Ah." He then leaned forward, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand gently. "I take it you didn't do well on it?"

"Understatement of the year," she mumbled glumly. She then motioned towards her bag on the floor. "It's in there."

He nodded silently before he reached over and picked the bag up, searching through it for her Potions exam. He found it soon after and smoothed the parchment out so he could look at it properly. His eyes quickly darted back to her.

"It's an 'Acceptable,' Celes."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed again before she ran a hand through her hair. "I thought I had it this time. I really did. I mean, I remembered you have to crush the bicorn before you add the wormwood, but I forgot the stupid clockwise stirring."

"It's a difficult potion to remember," he offered.

"So? You got it right, and you didn't even study."

He snorted and shook his head. "It's not a contest."

"I never said it was!" She then frowned and glanced away. "I just thought it'd be different this time, and it's not. I'm still the same stupid idiot I was before."

Sighing, he closed his eyes. So that's what this was all about. He should've guessed it.

"You're not an idiot, Celes," he countered quietly. "Not then and certainly not now."

"Of course you'd say that. You're—well, you know what you are," she grumped.

He couldn't hold back the soft chuckle.

"What?" she snapped, glaring at him.

He wisely withheld his annoyance at being snapped at and replied kindly, "If it's that upsetting to you, then I would be more than happy to tutor you."

"Tutor me?"

"Yes." He shrugged. "Clearly you wish you were better in Potions, which as you pointed out earlier comes naturally to me. Therefore, it's only logical I assist you in achieving this goal of yours."

"But I'm hopeless," she said quietly, picking at a loose strand on her cot.

"I wouldn't have asked if I thought for a second you were beyond all help." He then squeezed her hand and waited for her answer. "If you'd rather ask someone else—"

"No. Of course not. It's just, well, it's not a good idea."

"Oh?" His brow rose. "And just what gave you that idea?"

"I'm a distraction. You've said it a hundred times before."

He chuckled and shook his head.

"What? You said that!" she cried.

"I'm not arguing that I didn't say it."

"Then what?"

He smiled faintly and laughed. "I think I'll be able to remain focused." He caught her instant frown a moment later. "Celes?"

"Why? Because you found some other witch?!" she demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"What?" Oh, dear Merlin. He quickly glanced around, wishing Pomfrey would step out at any moment and distract her. He truly couldn't handle her mood shifts the first time around. This time he had a feeling would be pure murder, what with her pregnancy on top of severe emotional trauma.

"That's it, isn't it? You've replaced me." She yanked her hand back. "Just because you made that silly little team, it doesn't mean that people won't—"

"Well," called out a loud voice from the far side of the room. Madam Pomfrey, Toby noted a moment later. "I see Mister Brooks found you."

"He was just leaving," Celes replied snottily.

"Oh?" Madam Pomfrey glanced at him with a polite smile as she approached. "He doesn't look like he's in any hurry to leave you."

Celes clenched her jaw and glared out the nearest window. "I don't care. I don't want him here."

Pomfrey drew in a calculating breath, her wand held loosely in her hand. "I see. Why is that?"

"What do you mean, why?" she yelled. "Isn't it obvious? The bastard decided that I'm too damaged for him now."

"Too damaged?" Pomfrey repeated softly. "Odd. I didn't find any damage when I examined you earlier. Maybe I should do a more thorough exam this time."

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not? If he's claiming—"

"Enough of your damn mind games!" she yelled, cutting the matron off. "You know what I mean. So stop it! Just stop it!"

"No. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Celes." Pomfrey then paused for a moment. "Or is it Aurora I'm speaking to this time?"

Clearly perplexed, Toby glanced between the two witches. He was missing something again. A great deal of things, he later amended. Had he truly never figured his wife out? In all their years of knowing one another, was that even possible? He frowned inwardly.

It felt now as if someone was holding back all the puzzle pieces that made up their relationship until just the right moment before he'd receive a piece. No words could accurately describe the frustration he felt in this moment as he waited and watched Celes struggle to hold back her fiery temper. She was clearly angry about something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. So how in the world could he fix it, whatever it was?

He glanced back at Pomfrey. She clearly had a plan based on her actions with Celes. Though, it seemed that he wasn't privy to its details unfortunately. So, whatever this plan entailed, he knew he'd have to figure it out himself. Or perhaps the matron didn't want him to get in the middle of this? He wasn't certain anymore.

"Don't," Celes finally said with a tremble in her voice.

"Don't what?" Pomfrey replied.

"Don't play your head games with me. I know who I am."

"Oh?" Pomfrey briefly glanced at Toby before her gaze returned to Celes. "And who's that?"

His frown deepened. Was Pomfrey trying to reveal their true identities to everyone? No. That didn't seem possible. So, then she had to be testing Celes. Just like that, his mind quickly returned to the other day in the Headmaster's office. " _I don't want to be Aurora right now_. _I just want to be a fifteen-year-old girl who has fun and is happy. That's it_." His eyes darted back to Celes. He had heard it at the time, of course, but he hadn't thought anything on it really.

"This is ridiculous," she scoffed.

"Is it?" Pomfrey replied.

"Yes. I know who I am."

"Then why won't you answer the question?"

"Because you're just trying to prove one of your stupid points again."

Pomfrey laughed. "And just what point is that?"

"That I'm trying to escape my mental pain in order to protect myself."

"Interesting theory."

Toby's eyes narrowed instantly. Why wasn't the matron confirming that she was right? What was he missing this time? He shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. His sessions with Pomfrey were never this confusing. The matron was usually direct with him. Just how he liked it.

"It's not a theory, and you know it. It's what I'm doing," Celes admitted quietly a moment later. "I'm trying to forget about…it to spare myself the pain." She sighed. "I keep telling myself that if I say I'm Celes Martins enough times that maybe I can convince myself that it's true then. So it won't hurt so much. So it's like it happened to someone else."

"And?" the matron said softly, a polite smile on her face.

"And it works. For a little bit." She ran a hand through her hair. "But it always comes back." She sank more into the pillows propped up behind her. "I just thought it'd be different this time."

"Different from what?" Pomfrey asked inquiringly.

"From before. From our past. It was supposed to be different this time for both of us. But it's only working for him. I'm stuck like this."

"Why do you think you're stuck?" Pomfrey's eyes darted to Toby again before she once more glanced away.

He frowned in response. Was the matron trying to tell him something here with all the looks? If so, he was clearly missing it. He sighed inwardly soon after. This was precisely why he didn't understand women. The subtleties of potions were a piece of cake for him. The subtleties of a woman, however, were way beyond his current comprehension on the matter.

Celes remained silent, though.

"Is it because he's trying new things? Like joining the Quidditch team?" Pomfrey offered.

"I suppose." Celes shrugged, biting her bottom lip for a few moments. "Yeah, it could be that. I don't know." She picked at a loose thread on the blanket and sighed. Hesitantly, she glanced up and looked at him with a sad expression on her face. "It's like I don't know you anymore. Like you've outgrown me or something."

"And how does that make you feel?" Pomfrey asked softly, glancing at Toby again.

Celes, however, sighed heavily. "Could we please for once not dissect my feelings? It gets exhausting, Poppy," she groaned.

"She's only asking so you'll stop and think about it for a minute. It sometimes helps a person figure things out. Annoying as hell, of course, but it does help," Toby offered quietly. "At least it's helped me so far." He caught the slight softening of her face before it vanished again. As the silence fell around them, he waited patiently, watching Celes and noting the inner battle she was fighting with herself. She clearly wanted to talk, but just didn't know what words to say.

"I'm scared. All right?" She shrugged again before she picked even more at the blanket covering her legs. Her eyes then dropped from his. "I'm scared that all this is going to backfire. That instead of this being a second chance for us to get it right, it'll turn into a chance for you to realize what a mistake I am. That there are worthier women out there than me. That I was just a thing of convenience for you. So I lashed out earlier. Because I'm scared that you're going to leave."

He quickly leaned forward and grabbed her hand once more. "Never. I've _never_ once thought that, and I sure as hell will never think it. I love you. I don't know how to make that any clearer than that." He tenderly rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. "I love you, Aurora. With all my heart, I swear it." He slowly reached for her face, lifting her chin up so they'd be staring into one another's eyes again. "If you want me to shout it from the top of the castle, I will. By Merlin's right hand, I will. Just say the word. I'll climb up there and scream it for all these horrid brats to hear." He caught her soft laugh immediately and smiled in response.

"Well, I think that's a good stopping point for today, don't you?" Pomfrey said with a laugh. The young couple glanced at her. "Unless you'd like to continue with your joint session?"

Toby waited for Celes to answer. He wouldn't force her into this.

"No. Um, I think I've had all I can handle tonight," Celes answered a few moments later.

"As you wish." Pomfrey then smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on Celes's shoulder. "You weren't responding when it was just you and me during our sessions, so I improvised when I saw him today. If there's one person who can get you to open up, it's him. Not to mention, it was time for you two to have a joint session together."

"Time?"

Pomfrey nodded. "Yes. Obviously I don't need to tell either of you this, but clearly your relationship with one another has been affected. Now, I've spoken with both of you separately, but I think going forward it would be more beneficial if future sessions were held together." She then sighed. "Frankly, it's the only way I can get you to speak with me, Aurora. And while Severus is farther ahead of you in terms of his self-healing, he has quite some ways to go in terms of relationships."

He winced and glanced away. That was a hell of a way to put it.

"In other words, I believe that in order to heal fully, you two need to heal one another. Which today showed can be done. As long as you're guided along, that is.

"So, I can get out of here then? Since I did so well today, I mean?"

Toby snorted silently at Celes's wheedling.

"Nice try, but no. I'd like you to stay here for tonight at least." At the sound of Celes's loud groan, Pomfrey added, "It's just precautionary. You'll be back in class in no time."

"Great," Celes replied dryly, making a face.

Unable to hold back his smile, Toby shook his head. She _had_ picked up his sarcasm after all.

At the sound of the door to the hospital wing opening, Pomfrey quickly returned to her usual brisk mannerisms. "You've got an hour. Then, it's off to bed with you, Mister Brooks."

Toby nodded curtly and turned to Celes. "So…"


	16. Letting Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep this chapter light and fluffy. I promise. Only, well, the bunny didn't like that. Towards the end, this chapter contains violence. So, you're forewarned.

The rest of September passed by uneventfully. Much to her displeasure, Celes was still stuck in the hospital wing under Pomfrey's careful eye, while Toby was forced to attend practice after practice. Kai was so desperate in his quest to win Ravenclaw's first championship in decades that he had the team practice two times a day, mornings and evenings. It didn't matter if it was rainy or sunny. They'd still be out there practicing.

Toby had never realized before how much effort and sacrifice Quidditch players put into their sport. It was much more than he had ever given them credit for in the past. In fact, he could now understand why some of his students who were Quidditch players were so tired in his classes. With the amount of practices and the high-level of physical activity, it was quite frankly a wonder how those students could roll out of the bed the next morning. He knew that he was certainly having problems with that nowadays.

Every day for the past several weeks after his evening practice he would come visit Celes in her private hospital room and sit with her. It was something he knew they both looked forward to. More often than not, in fact, he found that if she was having a bad day at the start of his visit, she'd be smiling by the time he'd leave.

After yet another grueling practice in a rainstorm, he slowly sat down next to Celes's bedside. He stifled a yawn immediately and groaned quietly, rubbing at his tired eyes. He caught her amused look instantly and frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said with a smile, her attention quickly returning to her magazine.

"I'm glad you find my exhaustion humorous," he grumped.

"That's not what I find funny. Promise."

"Oh?"

"It's just amusing watching you try to hide it from me."

His frown deepened. "Well, if that's the case, then perhaps I should retire to my room for the evening and leave you here all alone." He made a motion to stand, stopping when she grabbed his arm a second later.

"Or you could just come over here and lay beside me, Mr. Grumpy."

"So you can watch me fall asleep? I think not."

She snorted. "Actually, I was suggesting that we both sleep."

"Oh." Knowing now that she, too, would be sleeping made him relax slightly. She, after all, needed sleep more than he did nowadays. So, with a slow nod, he moved towards her and settled behind her on the cot. He chuckled quietly when she curled up against him a moment later. "Better?" he remarked with a smirk.

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing."

He snorted and kissed the top of her head. Today was definitely a good day for her, he decided. She needed more of those in his opinion. She then held the magazine up in front of her again, which drew his attention instantly. His eyes quickly passed over the article she was reading before his brows knit together.

"Is that the 'Hero of Hogwarts' edition?" he asked quietly.

"You mean, all about the evil bat of Hogwarts?" she teased, glancing up at him. At the sight of his mild glare, she laughed. "Yeah. It is. It's actually rather interesting."

"Interesting?" He wasn't certain if he liked the sound of that.

"Well, it seems that Snape was born in the poor side of Cokeworth."

He snorted. "There's a rich side? Must have missed that part of town."

"His mother was a three-time Gobstones champion, and his father was known for running the largest gambling ring in Western England," she read.

_Sounds about right_ , he thought with a shrug.

"Let's see here." She smoothed the magazine down to make a big show out of it before she read aloud again. "He grew up in a row house on the very end of Spinner's End next to the river. He's an only child and spent much of his youth at the abandoned park on 13th street."

"Actually, it was 15th street, but honestly what's a few blocks?" he remarked dryly.

"He was best friends with Lily Evans, whom readers will recall is Harry Potter's mother. However, it would seem that some type of falling out occurred during their fifth year. When asked, Harry Potter was unable to give further comment on this matter and merely stated that it was a private matter between Professor Snape and his mother (Lily Evans-Potter). One does wonder just what it was that occurred between them, but it would seem only the Nargles know that answer, as my daughter would say."

The way she read that caused the laughter to pour out of him. It was utter ridiculousness.

"Maybe I should ask those pesky Nargles sometime?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "You know very well what occurred between us."

"Yeah, but maybe the Nargles have something to add. Like how amazing you really are."

He scoffed. "Hardly." He then motioned back to the article. "What else is there?"

"Shortly before the tragic events of Godric's Hollow, young Severus took the available Potions post at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He soon became the youngest professor on staff, as well as the youngest Head of House in Hogwarts' history. It can be assumed it was during his tenure here at Hogwarts that he met his wife, Aurora Sinistra, the current Astronomy mistress at Hogwarts."

"Can be assumed?' That's all?" He snorted again. "Doesn't say much for Lovegood's father's investigative side, does it?" He smiled inwardly when he heard her soft laugh.

"Sources close to the couple—"

"We have people close to us?" he cut in. "Interesting."

"Probably referring to Minerva, I'd imagine," she answered with a shrug. She then cleared her throat before she continued. "Sources close to the couple stated they were unaware of the couple's romantic involvement until this past May."

"Rather enlightening to hear that you can, in fact, mask your emotions every now and then." He half-laughed when she playfully punched his shoulder.

"Arse." She then sighed. "Little is known of the couple's relationship. However, considering the dangerous times we were in, this is no surprise."

He frowned inwardly. That was all the hard-hitting facts it had? No. That couldn't be it. "Anything else?"

She shook her head. "Not really." She then turned the page. "Most of this actually is highly speculative. At least ninety percent, I mean. The rest is like biographical stuff that one could find in the Ministry."

"In other words, Lovegood's father didn't do his research."

She laughed softly. "Or we were just really good at keeping secrets."

"Or that," he agreed. "According to Luna, this is the biggest edition of the _Quibbler_ yet."

"And yet it barely has any substance," she commented. "Sort of sad if you think about it."

"Oh?" he replied with a raised brow.

"It's just everyone deserves to hear the true story about—"

"How selfish I was."

"No." She sighed. "It may have started out with you doing it for selfish reasons, but I like to think your reasons changed in the later years."

He chuckled softly. "In other words, you like to believe I matured."

"Yes." She then glanced up at him. "Is that so wrong to think?"

"I haven't a clue," he replied with a shrug. "However, and I mean this in the best possible way of course, you always see the good in me."

"You made a mistake," she started to argue. The moment he sighed heavily, she frowned. "I know. That annoys you greatly when I say it, but it's the truth. You were a stupid sixteen-year-old who wanted to kick the shit out of people who made your life a living hell. Show me an adolescent who wouldn't do the same."

"Potter."

"Harry had a support system," she countered. "He had friends who would build him back up whenever people picked on him. You didn't."

"Oh? I take it then that Rosier and—"

"Rosier and Avery were groomed at birth to be Death Eaters, and you know it." She slowly pushed herself up to look at him properly. "You could not have known what would happen. No one could have predicted any of it." When he turned away, she gently grabbed his chin. "Listen to me. You had a difficult childhood. Your only friend in the entire world was sorted into a different House. You tried to make it work. You did. But she still got torn one way and you the other. They whispered their lies in your ears to cause further separation, further strife between you two. So, your friendship broke piece by piece until one day, after yet another round of humiliation at the hands of Black and Potter, you lost your temper and snapped."

He closed his eyes and felt his shoulders slump.

"And when you snap, you lose all sight of yourself and others," she continued, her hand cupping his cheek tenderly. "You become blinded by the rage inside that you've held back for so long. All that anger, all that fury, all that hatred comes bursting out of you then. Like a dam giving way to the flood waters, your emotions pour out of you, and you can't hold them back anymore. And after it's all over, you're left there standing forced to pick up the pieces."

"It doesn't excuse what happened."

"You made a mistake. A horrible and tragic one, yes, but a mistake." She sighed, her eyes softening. "Congratulations. You're human, Severus."

He huffed and glanced away again. "I should've known better."

"You were sixteen! Not exactly an age known for having the mental maturity to choose life-altering decisions correctly. At that age, all your decisions would be emotionally charged. Like every other damn adolescent in the world."

"Well, I chose wrong!"

"Yes you did. However, you have something now that you didn't have then."

He groaned inwardly. "I hardly doubt having you—" He nearly yelped when she hit him upside the head unexpectedly a second later.

"No, you dunderhead. It's called 'hindsight."

He frowned. "Now, you sound like my mother."

She smiled warmly. "I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you."

"Yes, because being utterly mad is _clearly_ a compliment," he remarked snidely.

"I'll tell her you said so," she replied happily, once again settling against him.

"Insufferable woman," he mumbled under his breath. He then let the silence settle around them for several minutes as he held her in his arms. As the silence stretched on, his mind slowly returned to a few hours earlier in his private room in the Ravenclaw dormitory.

" _It will work out in the end," a soft voice stated to his left._

" _I wish I shared your optimism," he dryly replied with a sigh. He rubbed his face tiredly before he glanced at the Ravenclaw ghost. Helena smiled warmly towards him, though, floating near the end of his bed._

" _The Friar's been watching her, as has the Baron," Helena softly reminded._

" _I know. I just wish I could help her."_

" _Oh, Severus," she laughed softly. "You are." She floated gracefully closer. "Sometimes we don't notice the good in our deeds until after the darkness has passed."_

" _And just what good am I doing her exactly?"_

" _You are being her husband, supporting her and being there when she needs you. Like me, she knows not when to ask for help or forgiveness for that matter."_

_He frowned. "She has nothing to apologize for, though."_

" _Oh?" the Grey Lady replied quietly, an amused look on her pale face. "Then she was not the one who leapt before she looked?"_

" _I agreed to her idea, Helena."_

" _Because you care for her and wanted to see her succeed." She smiled faintly as she met his disapproving look. "Both of which show how good of a man you truly are."_

" _Helena—"_

_She then sighed softly. "Oh, Severus. It is in these few moments that you remind me so much of another tortured man, one who wears his chains quite literally."_

_He sighed, rubbing his face once more._

" _It'll all work out in the end. Trust me," Helena said quietly._

" _She's hurting. Badly. And I haven't a clue how to help her," he admitted, looking to her._

" _You are helping her, Headmaster."_

_He stiffened instantly. "Don't call me that. I resigned."_

" _And as we have stated before, we did not accept your resignation."_

" _You don't have the authority to accept or decline it," he argued, knowing it was a futile attempt. He'd had this same argument with the ghosts and portraits for the past two months with no sight of victory on the horizon._

" _You are a part of us, Headmaster. Just as we are a part of you."_

_He groaned loudly and punched his pillow. "I don't want this. Do you understand that? I just want to live my life for once without having anyone pulling the strings."_

" _We are hardly pulling strings," she drawled with a soft laugh._

" _You're still controlling my life, Helena," he pointed out angrily._

_The Ravenclaw ghost was silent for a few moments. Her sad eyes held his before she finally spoke again. "You are free to do whatever you wish."_

" _Funny. I don't feel like I am," he replied bitterly._

" _Enjoy life. That is all we require of you."_

" _For now," he huffed. "But someday you'll need more from me. That's how it's always been in my life. One day you'll all decide that what I give you isn't enough, and pretty soon I'll be back in the same boat I was in before."_

" _I assure you it will not be the case this time. We did not bring you back that day just so you could live a life full of pain again."_

_He blinked. "Bring me back?" he breathed, feeling his blood stop in his veins._

" _Protect. Defend. Love. Rebuild." She had chanted the same words he had heard as he lay dying in the Shrieking Shack. And just like that, he understood. Hogwarts had been the one to save him, not Albus. The castle, the ghosts, the portraits, every bit of magic in its magnificent walls had yanked him back from Death's clutches somehow. "We chose you, Severus, because we know you will succeed."_

"Toby?" Celes's soft voice suddenly cut in, pulling him from his thoughts instantly. "What are you thinking about?"

He remained quiet for several moments before he glanced down at her. A part of him wanted to tell her. Another part was fearful of what would happen afterwards. Finally, he sighed and hung his head.

"I'm still headmaster," he said quietly with a sigh.

She looked up at him with a lopsided grin. "I know that, silly. Remember? You opened the passage to the office and let Minerva and us up there so we could tell her the truth about us. Sort of hard not to notice after that."

He opened his mouth to argue but quickly closed it. She had a point. It was rather obvious after that.

"You're not mad?"

"About what?"

He bit his cheek to keep his usual sarcasm at bay. "You're not mad about me still being headmaster?" he asked quietly.

"Of course not. You're a good headmaster."

He couldn't hold back his snort of disbelief. Him, a good headmaster? Now, he knew she had spent way too much time locked up in the hospital wing. That was like saying Neville was good at Potions. Fat chance of that.

"Don't laugh," she replied with a frown. "I mean it. You're a good headmaster."

"The castle was practically destroyed," he said bluntly. "Fifty people were killed. Not to mention the number of students who were subjected to Unforgivables on a daily basis. Let's be honest. Please." He sighed softly, holding her kind eyes. "I was the worst headmaster."

"No you weren't. All of that was a result of Albus and his influences, not you."

He shook his head, though, refusing to hear her. She could always spin his darkness just the right way to absolve him of any guilt. That was if he'd let her.

"Fine. Don't believe me," she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "But it's the truth. You're a good headmaster. Why else would the Board not accept your resignation?"

"The Board _did_ accept it," he pointed out immediately.

"What?" She stared up at him, clearly confused. "I don't understand."

"The Board of Governors did accept my resignation. Every single one of them, Celes." He then ran a hand through his hair as he glanced out the window. "Only, it seems, the ghosts and portraits and, let's be honest here, the whole damn rest of the castle believes they have more authority than the Board and, therefore, can force me to remain as headmaster. Against my wishes and the Board's wishes."

"Why?"

He glanced down at her and shrugged. "To hell if I know."

"You mean you haven't asked?" Slowly, she turned so she was facing him more.

"Of course I asked," he snapped, feeling the familiar irritation bubbling up again.

"Then you have to know why."

He clenched his jaw and quickly glanced up at the ceiling. Oh, Merlin above, give him the strength. Listing all the ingredients for Polyjuice in his mind, he drew in slow breaths to calm himself. As soon as he reached the boomslang, he looked back at her.

"If you must know," he started very slowly in his best 'I'm annoyed as hell so tread lightly' voice, "the reason I was given is that by mending our relationship with one another, we will somehow restore Hogwarts to its usual splendor. Which is utter crap if you ask me." As he watched her mull this information over, he felt the pit in his stomach widen. "Celes," he warned.

"I know. I know," she responded rapidly, holding her hands up protectively. "It's complete nutters. But—"

"No. No 'buts."

"What if it's true?"

He groaned instantly and hung his head. _Dammit._

"You told me once you felt as if you were connected with the castle. What if that's true? What if every headmaster and headmistress, upon taking the post, shares a link with Hogwarts?"

"Then the castle would have known that I hadn't killed Albus and never would have accepted me as headmaster since there was already a headmaster," he pointed out.

"Unless—"

"Stop," he begged, his face souring. He truly didn't want to hear her go on about possible theories that proved that. Sighing softly, he grabbed her hand a moment later and rested it against his chest. "Listen to me. We have enough on our plate right now. We do not need to add healing a castle on top of it all. Now do we?"

"No, but—"

"No 'buts," he cut in again, giving her a hard look. "We have put others before us for decades. This time _we_ come first. No more for the Greater Good." He then grabbed her face when she opened her mouth to argue. Staring deep into her eyes, he simply declared, "Fuck the Greater Good. We're putting ourselves first this time, Celes. I mean it. I don't give a damn about anyone else and their pain. I only care about _your_ pain. That's it."

"I'm fine, Toby," she said once again, continuing her mantra.

"Physically, yes. I know that you've healed from your injuries. I can see that clear as day. However, we both know that you haven't healed mentally from your emotional trauma yet. Now don't mistake my words for me asking you to fake it or rush your healing. I'm not asking for any of that. It'll take time. I know that. Which is why I come here every day. To see how you are and support you on your recovery." He then sighed again. "But I can only do so much, Celes. The rest you have to do."

"I know," she argued. "And I've been trying. I just don't like talking to death about it."

"No one enjoys speaking about unpleasant things."

"It's not that," she countered, shaking her head. "It's just I don't know how to describe what I'm feeling. Yet at every turn, there Pomfrey is, asking me once more about my feelings. Like this time will be different."

"You're frustrated."

"Ugh, don't you start, too," she groaned. "I've had my fill of Mind Healers in my life."

He snorted softly with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm not, Celes. I'm merely working something out in my mind."

"Like what? How messed up your wife is?"

"You're not," he whispered before he pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead. She was undeniably frustrated. Like he had been in the beginning of his therapy sessions. However, he could hear in her voice that she at least wanted someone's help. It was just that she didn't appreciate Pomfrey's so-called methods, which was something he could understand.

"Toby?" she said quietly several minutes later. "Do you remember awhile back when we shared that memory? Of that night, I mean?" She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as she waited his answer.

"I do." He watched her nod slowly before she folded her hands neatly on her lap and glanced down. Her classic display of guilt he recognized instantly. He, however, remained silent and waited for her to continue. He knew she would eventually. After she figured out how to ask him properly, that was. It was fine, though. He'd be patient.

"We never finished it," she whispered, swallowing.

"We did not," he agreed quietly, watching her closely.

Gradually, her eyes peeked upwards towards him before she quickly glanced back down. "Could we?" she mouthed, her arms now wrapped protectively around her.

"If that's what you want," he replied. He wouldn't make that decision for her. She had to.

"You'll be there with me again?"

"Every step of the way."

"Good."

He nodded slowly before he motioned for her to lean back against him again. With her back now against his chest, he held her protectively in his arms. Drawing in a slow breath, he emptied his mind before he spoke.

"Close your eyes." He waited until she had and then continued. "Breathe in." He felt her chest expand underneath his left arm. "Breathe out," he directed a moment later, feeling her chest shrink. "Breathe in." He gently placed his two fingers against her temple. "Breathe out." He could sense her relaxed state of mind and then closed his eyes himself. Images rushed to the forefront of his mind, and soon he found himself immersed in her memories of that fateful night.

_Leaning against the low wall of the crenellated ramparts of the Astronomy Tower, Aurora looked out onto the grounds as the stars twinkled above her. Suddenly she gasped and clutched her chest with wide eyes. One of the lower level windows on the far side of the castle had burst unexpectedly. However, it was the huge, bat-like object that had emerged a moment later from the large hole and flew off into the darkness that had her the most shocked._

" _What the hell?" she mouthed. The answers clearly weren't going to come, though. Turning away, she headed for the spiral staircase to return to the castle and headed towards the direction of the now broken window._

_She was halfway there when she found herself suddenly jumping back when the stone statues came to life. As the statues rushed past her then, her hand instinctively went to her abdomen, thankful that her robes hid the baby bump. At the feel of the slight nervous kick from their child, she rubbed her belly gently in hopes that it would calm the baby again._

" _Aurora!"_

_Her hand fell to her side instantly as her head snapped towards the person who had called out her name. Her insides knotted even more as Minerva rapidly approached._

" _What's going on? Where's—" Her voice suddenly trailed off when Minerva gently grabbed her upper arms. The knot in her stomach grew then. Without a doubt, she knew now that Severus had been driven from the castle. Likely by Minerva herself._

_Minerva's green eyes were hard and full of determination. A woman clearly ready to lead her troops into battle, it was noted in hindsight. Behind the Head of Gryffindor was the surging group of students, Order members, and professors heading into the Great Hall, all ready to sacrifice their lives for the Greater Good._

_As Minerva's face softened slightly, she gently brushed back a few of Aurora's stray curls in a motherly manner. "I want you to know that I understand. I do, Aurora."_

_Aurora stared deep into the sad green eyes of her mentor. Understand what exactly? That Minerva had just tossed out a victim of Albus's cruelty? The words never left her mouth, though. Instead, Minerva pulled her into a fierce hug the next moment, full of love and sadness. As if the older witch believed in her heart this was the last time she would ever see Aurora alive._

" _I hope for your sake you're right about him, my dear," Minerva whispered in her ear before she pulled back. All the emotions that had been in the older witch's face, the warmth and love, suddenly vanished. "Your services here are no longer required, I'm afraid," McGonagall stated briskly, the coldness entering her voice as if she was speaking to someone else. "Leave this castle at once or else I shall have you physically removed."_

_Stunned, Aurora stared at her mentor of twenty-one years before she noticed the other professors glancing towards her suspiciously. Without another word, she turned away and left, heading to her tower. She had to find Severus. She had to._

_As the memory faded, another quickly took its place. The crenellated ramparts of the Astronomy Tower soon reappeared as Aurora once again stood at the top of the tower, searching the massive grounds for her husband. She knew he was out there. Somewhere. He wouldn't have left her there all alone._

_Her eyes narrowed a moment later on a dark figure near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Could that be him? She couldn't tell from this distance for certain. She then saw a brief flash of light from a wand. At the sight of a series of large fireballs heading to the castle soon after, she inhaled sharply and ran down the ramparts towards her trapdoor. She'd be a sitting duck if she just stayed up there._

_The first fireball slammed into the large Great Hall window, shattering it instantly._

_The second barreled through the North Tower, sending brick and mortar flying._

_The third struck the base of her tower, nearly sending her to her knees from its force._

_From then on, Aurora's tower shook violently from the fierce blasts. She scrambled to her trapdoor and climbed down the ladder in order to reach safety. Swirling black robes suddenly were behind her, whipping around in the strong wind. She was on her guard now, her wand in her hand. It wasn't enough, though. A long pale hand suddenly covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her before the two Disapparated._

_When they reappeared in the middle of a familiar sitting room—the cottage's to be exact, her supposed attacker released her before the figure took a step back to reveal himself. It really was a wonder how they were still married._

" _Severus?!" Aurora hissed, growling a moment later before hitting the black-clad man's shoulder. "You bloody damn arse. I could have killed you! What the hell were you thinking?"_

_He, however, said nothing._

" _Answer me, Severus. What were you thinking?"_

" _Remain here" was the quiet reply before he Disapparated soon after._

" _Oh! You son of a bitch! Like hell I'll remain here, you bloody bat."_

_The memory skipped ahead once more, their surroundings blurred for a moment before the Headmaster's office came into clear view. Jets of light flew every which way as three figures, Aurora being one of them, dueled. Knickknacks on the desk burst when they were hit by a curse or a hex. Loud explosions rocked the room every now and then. Blood spattered the walls once or twice. However, the three continued. A proper duel to the death it seemed._

_One of the two Death Eaters suddenly slashed the air with his wand, a red jet of light zooming towards her. She cried out, unable to get out of the curse's way in time. It struck her left shoulder and sent her flying back against the mirrored cabinet where the Pensieve usually was. Little shards of glass tinkled as it fell against the floor. She lay motionless for a moment, propped up against the cabinet._

" _Stupid bitch," snarled the other Death Eater._

_His companion walked towards her, wand still in hand. The Death Eater spat on her a moment later before snickering when she moaned and moved her head slowly. "She ain't so tough now, is she?" He grabbed a hold of her dark curls and yanked her up by it, forcing her to stand. "Huh. So you're Snape's little Pureblood whore."_

" _I'm his wife, you moron," she hissed, sounding deadly herself. "And when the Dark Lord hears that you just—" The Death Eater holding her backhanded her instantly._

" _Listen here, sweetheart," he sneered. "You don't get to make demands anymore. You see, you ain't off-limits." He chuckled darkly. "In fact, let me tell you what's going down right now, hmm? Your precious husband is getting his just desserts. He's lost his value, you see? So, the Dark Lord's tying up the loose end all pretty. Bye-bye, Snape. Won't miss ya."_

" _You lie."_

_Both Death Eaters, however, chuckled evilly._

" _Is that so?" The Death Eater not holding her grabbed her face then. "You know, I'm looking at you right now, and I don't see it. Just what is it about you that's just so damn special, hmm? What do you think, Travers?"_

" _Personally, I reckon it's that he thought her blood would rub off on him, Dolohov. You know how bad he's been trying to play the Pureblood."_

" _Or maybe it's because, unlike you two idiots, he prefers a warm bed and sex whenever he wants," Aurora said nastily. She clenched her jaw when they chuckled again._

" _Yeah," Dolohov replied, leaning towards her. "About that. You see, sweetheart, we can have sex whenever we want to, too."_

" _Just we don't got to worry about her saying she's got a headache or nothing with our approach," Travers added darkly._

_Unable to hold back her fiery temper, Aurora brought her knee up into Dolohov's groin and slammed her head back against Travers's. She was tossed down onto the floor instantly as a result. Scrambling to her feet, she started to rush towards the door. Before she reached it, though, a curse hit her hard in the back and sent her sprawling back onto the ground._

" _You stupid little bitch!" Dolohov snarled, advancing towards her with his wand drawn._

_She groaned softly but quickly turned and flicked her wand at him, no words leaving her lips. At the sight of Dolohov's doubling over and screaming, she knew she had hit him. She then sent another Cutting Curse at Travers, missing this time._

" _Crucio!" Travers yelled as she flicked her wand again at him._

_The intense pain flooded her nerves moments later after it had struck her. She tried to escape the thirty seconds of boiling hot, blinding pain before the spell was finally released. Shaking horribly now, she tried again to hit Travers with a curse. It struck a portrait instead._

" _Crucio!" Travers yelled again, this time holding the curse even longer on her._

_Her screams tore out of her. Her body tensed up completely and bowed again like a scene from the_ Exorcist _. Her vision blurred until all that was left was black, but still the pain came. No part of her didn't feel the hot, white, searing pain of his Cruciatus._

_When finally the curse lifted and she fell limply back onto the floor with a thud, she lay shaking horribly and gasping desperately for air, choking around her own vomit and blood that had collected in the back of her mouth. Her lungs burned. Her throat raw. Blood everywhere._

_Just when she thought it was over, a hard boot slammed into her back. She cried out, but no sound was heard. Another boot slammed into her abdomen, causing her to curl even more in on herself protectively. Unable to fight back now because of the intense pain and horrible shaking, she lay there as Travers and Dolohov repeatedly kicked her all over._

_After one of them slammed their boot against the side of her face, she soon found herself struggling to stay conscious. A part of her welcomed the approaching darkness with open arms. At least the pain would stop then was her belief. But as she felt herself start to slip in and out of consciousness, panic surged through her. If she gave in now, she would never know his fate, if he lived or died in the battle. She would never see him again. Never be able to tell him how much she loved him. Never caress his cheek and stare into those dark eyes of his. No. All that would remain is emptiness and darkness. Nothingness._

_No. It would not end like this. She would not leave him. Not leave him alone again. A silent cry tore from her lips._

_As her vision blurred and then focused every now and then, she noticed the growing river of blood flowing from her. She couldn't help but recall that he had been so happy when they learned of her pregnancy with their first child. Guilt tore at her. She'd leave him utterly destroyed this time. All because she had to open her mouth. Foolish dunderhead._

_She needed to tell him how sorry she was. She needed him to know that she loved him. That she hadn't meant to hurt him. That she'd always be there with him._

_With all her strength, she pushed past the blinding pain that filled her every nerve and crawled towards the doors to find him. With all her soul, she cried his name aloud so he'd hear her, even though only rasps left her white lips. And with all her love, she sent him every last bit of it so he'd know that he would never truly be alone._

_Nonetheless, she only reached as far as the middle of the office before she was grabbed roughly from behind and yanked her upwards. She moaned, her head lulling to the side._

" _Say hello to Snape in hell for us, will ya?" Travers drawled, his wand raised ominously._

_Tears streaked her bloodied and bruised cheeks. She had failed. He'd never know now._

_However, before Travers could cast his spell, a blinding light filled the room followed by a feeling of weightlessness. Images then flashed in her mind, too quick for her to decipher properly. Soon after, she was bathed in a series of warm lights. First red, then blue, next green, and finally yellow. With the lights, strange voices whispered around her in a manner similar to if she were underwater and being serenaded by the merpeople. And then came a sense of something she couldn't fully describe. It was good, but that was all she knew._

Slowly coming back to himself, he drew in a series of breaths. His eyes reopened as soon as the last of her memories faded from his mind. He found himself staring out the window of the hospital wing and exhaled quietly. He could feel her heart racing as he still held her protectively.

"Toby?" she said shakily.

"I'm here," he replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

He closed his eyes and drew in another breath before he pressed a kiss against her head. "Oh, Celes," he sighed somberly. "When will you realize that you did nothing wrong, my love?"

"I-I did."

"You didn't," he countered before he urged her to turn and face him. "Listen to me. Please." He waited until she looked up into his eyes. "You did not kill our daughter." When she opened her mouth to argue, he quickly pressed a finger to her lips. "Hush." A pained look crossed his face then before he continued. "You have to let go of this misplaced guilt. It's only tearing you up inside. You didn't kill her. I promise you that." He gently brushed back her curls in his familiar loving manner. "You have no reason to feel all this guilt. Not for any of that." She opened her mouth to argue again. "You. Did. Not. Kill. Our. Daughter," he repeated, emphasizing each word. He then cupped her face in his hands. "Our daughter died due to the actions of Antonin Dolohov and Michael Travers. Not you. You didn't kill her. I swear to it. Please, I beg of you. Let go of your foolish guilt and place blame where it is due. On them. They are the ones who took her from us." He rested his forehead against hers. "Don't let them take you from me as well. Please, Aurora. Let go of your guilt and forgive yourself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Toby and Harry have a talk.


	17. Shocking Prophet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been so long since I updated this story. So many apologies. This chapter fought with me brutally. I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I think I've got it getting back on track. When I started this story long ago, I had so many ideas with this fic. However, I admit that I hadn't fleshed all of the ideas out before I just started writing, so the ideas quickly started fading. My main goal with this story was to try to do something that hadn't been done before, show the after the Final Battle. The broken lonely hearts, the heart-wrenching despair, the unknown anger ... and the eventual/surprising moment of one moving on. It likely hasn't come out, and for that I apologize. As always, thank you for your continued support.

With the leaves now falling because of the brisk cool wind, it was clear to all that the first Quidditch match was just around the corner. Excitement filled the air at this realization, as it had in the past. In fact, in some parts of the castle there were even hushed whispers of bets on which team would win, whether that would be Slytherin or Gryffindor. Gryffindor, of course, was the favored party.

But Quidditch wasn't all the talk, however. There were also large groups scattered about the castle talking about the latest _Daily Prophet_ front page article. How could they not, though? Everyone wanted to know where in the world the true hero of Hogwarts was now.

Stifling yet another yawn, Toby quickly took his seat in the large Defense classroom and opened his textbook. Surprisingly, he had to admit that his father-in-law was a competent teacher. They had covered most of the material that would be on their O. effectively. Though, the man was seriously lacking when it came to classroom management in his opinion.

"Hey, Brooks?" Anthony Lark called out from across the room.

Toby bit back his sigh and glanced at the curly-haired boy. "What?"

"You read the _Prophet_ yet?"

He shook his head. "No. Why? Something interesting in it today?" When Anthony headed towards him, Toby felt his gut contract as a surprising surge of fear rushed through him.

"There's an article in it about Cokeworth. Didn't you say that's where you're from?"

"Yeah," Toby replied quietly, jerking his head before he glanced down at the newspaper Anthony set down in front of him. His eyes passed over the photo of his older self.

"You ever run down Spinner's End?"

"Time or two," Toby said with a listless shrug. "But that's a rough neighborhood so you try to stay far away from there. Lots of desperate people live there." He watched Anthony nod but quickly glanced back down at the article. His eyes narrowed when he caught a small blurb in the bottom corner.

"Yeah, that caught my eye, too," Anthony cut in soon after, poking at the article above the one Toby had been reading. "I hope wherever he is that he's all right." He laughed when Toby glanced up at him in surprise. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Snape was a royal git, but at least you knew where you stood with him. He may have hated your guts and treated you like shit, but he wasn't going to gut you or anything. It made you tougher, I think."

"You're an odd one, Lark," Toby finally said after a few minutes of shaking his head. He watched the young man laugh before Anthony quickly returned to his seat.

"Good morning, class," Orin announced not long after, walking out of his office with a cheerful smile. "I take it you've all heard by now about that silly gathering after the Quidditch match tomorrow in the Great Hall?"

Toby blinked as he heard the excited chatter all around him. What was Orin talking about? The professors never before had encouraged the students to party in the Great Hall after a Quidditch match. Just what exactly was Dumbledore up to by allowing this?

"No? Oh, well." Orin laughed awkwardly. "Surprise."

"Do you mean it, sir? Is there really going to be a party in the Great Hall?" asked one of the Hufflepuff girls.

Orin smiled warmly. "I mean everything I say, Miss Michaels. Just ask my daughter." A frown then quickly took over his face as he likely recalled that he was supposed to pretend Aurora wasn't around. "Ah, well, you know what I mean." He shook his head and turned away.

"Um, sir?" the Hufflepuff girl asked hesitantly.

Toby sighed inwardly as soon as he heard her. Nothing good was going to come of this.

"Yes?" Orin replied quietly, slowly turning back.

"Is it true what they're saying?"

"It would depend a great deal on what they're saying, Miss Michaels."

"Well, the _Prophet_ is saying that, um, well—" the girl stammered.

"It's saying that Professor Sinistra miscarried, sir," Anthony said, cutting in quietly.

Toby couldn't help but flinch inwardly.

"I see." Orin sighed and ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair before sighing. "Frankly, I don't see where any of this is your concern. This matter is between—"

"We know that, sir, but we were just wondering if she's all right," another girl said, picking up the conversation.

Toby could see the internal struggle Orin was having with himself and dipped his head imperceptibly towards his father-in-law. There was no harm in letting them know the general details.

"She's healing. A little slower than all of us, of course, but she is healing. It's just going to take a while. However, she's in good hands, I know, and she's well aware of how loved she is." Orin then cleared his throat. "Now, then, let's move onto today's lesson." A Ravenclaw, however, raised his hand. "Yes, Mister Hunter?"

"Is Professor Snape with her, sir?"

Toby caught Orin's head fall forward instantly. The man clearly didn't feel comfortable at all answering these questions. Toby didn't blame him one bit, though. He didn't feel comfortable hearing it.

"I take it that all of you have been reading the salacious gossip the _Prophet_ has been printing lately?" Orin grumbled quietly. He shook his head when most of the class nodded. "We are all entitled to our private lives, and that is all I will say on this matter. Understood?"

"But, sir, the _Prophet_ and others have all been trying to get ahold of Professors Snape and Sinistra for months now and haven't heard any replies from them. Aren't you worried at all?"

"About what exactly?"

"That something may have happened to them," a brave Hufflepuff girl called out.

"Yeah," a few of her classmates agreed.

"No one has seen them in months!"

"And the last person to see her was some professor at Oxford, who said Professor Sinistra was taking a class with her," Lea declared.

If Toby wasn't so shocked by their genuine concern, he may have cut in.

"Yeah, and that professor later said that Professor Sinistra was supposed to send in this paper thing and she never received it. It's not like her to not send things in on time," Anthony stated firmly.

Toby blinked instantly. She hadn't sent what thing in? Certainly not her proposal, could it?

"I'm sorry?" Orin said in clear confusion, mirroring Toby.

"According to that Oxford professor, Professor Sinistra was supposed to submit some proposal thing back in late August, but the Oxford lady said she never received it, though. Don't take this the wrong way, sir, but your daughter is always a stickler about getting things in on time. If we didn't, she wouldn't accept the paper."

"And let's not forget about Professor Snape, who nobody has seen since the day after the, you know," cut in another student wincing as he finished speaking.

"That's enough." Orin gave each of his students a hard look. He angrily shook his head before he quickly regained control of his composure again. "I don't even know why I'm bothering to discuss this, but I want all of you to listen closely. Regardless of what that Skeeter woman continues to write in the _Prophet_ , my family is fine. This I promise you. There is no big conspiracy going on between my daughter and son-in-law. They are resting, learning to cope with their loss. That's it. They're not avoiding Aurors to escape any punishment as the _Prophet_ would have you believe. They are just healing in their own way."

"Well, we sort of figured they weren't part of a conspiracy, sir," Anthony replied with a shrug. "Potter's convinced us all that Snape's not so bad."

"Then, what are you suggesting exactly?" Orin asked suspiciously.

"We're asking, sir, if you're absolutely certain she and Professor Snape are all right. If you've seen them with your own eyes."

"Of course they're all right. Why on earth wouldn't they be?"

"Oh, I don't know . . . maybe because of last year?" snapped a young Hufflepuff behind Toby.

"What do you care anyway?" growled a Ravenclaw across the room. "I mean, let's face it. We all hated Snape. We all wanted him dead."

"Yeah . . . and look what happened," a Hufflepuff two rows over replied somberly.

"You think he'd want our pity? To hear us moping over them? He sure as hell didn't complain, so why should we?"

Toby tugged uncomfortably on his collar. He glanced sideways at Orin, hoping the man could rein his students back in quickly. This conversation had gone on for way too long in his opinion.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Orin said after a few silent moments, cutting in between the bickering students. "How much our opinion of a person can change based on one little tidbit of info we didn't previously have." He leaned against his desk and sighed. "I assure you that they are both fine. They are healing in their own ways and when it's time, I'm certain they will return. Until then, we must give them their space. After all, how would you like it if you were hounded by the press, as they are, when they're still learning to cope with such a terrible loss as theirs?"

There were soft murmurs in the class.

The brave Hufflepuff, once again, though, raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Michaels?"

"Is their baby going to be added to the fifty names, sir?" Her blue eyes hesitantly glanced towards the window. Out on the small island in Black Lake the window looked out on was the memorial that was slowly being built to stand as a reminder of all the victims of the Final Battle. The base had now been laid with a few marble pieces having been set into place on the skeleton structure.

Toby sat up, stiff as a board in response to the girl's question. Was his daughter going to be . . . Of all the things he'd thought the girl would ask, that was not among them. He glanced through his long black hair towards his father-in-law, noting Orin's hand resting behind him on the desk in sheer shock.

"I-I do not know," Orin said after clearing his throat. "That would be a decision up to them."

Another girl raised her hand, then.

"No. No more questions, class. Not about private matters like this," Orin announced, turning his back to the curious class.

"But, sir—" Anthony called out.

"Mister Lark, I said—"

"No questions,' I know," the Ravenclaw recited rapidly. "But you also said at the beginning of this class, 'If we see one of our friends having a difficult time, we must help.' And, quite frankly, sir, you're having a difficult time."

"However, I am not one of your friends, Mister Lark," Orin replied flatly. "I'm your teacher."

"Actually, you're more of our counselor, I think, but it still applies."

Orin turned back and frowned. "I see. Well, then, let me assure you that I am fine."

"But your—"

Orin quickly cut him off. "What happened with my marriage has no bearing in this classroom whatsoever regardless of the rumors that are flying around here concerning my current relationship with Professor McGonagall."

"So, you two are together, then?" Anthony asked bravely.

"Mister Lark, that is none of your business."

"Normally, we'd agree, sir. Trust me. We wouldn't want to know about two of our teachers snogging and stuff anymore than you would, but what we're trying to say here is that . . . it's good to see Professor McGonagall being happy again, you know? It makes us, or at least me, feel like everything's going to be all right now. Like, you know, life is going on."

"Life _is_ going on, Mister Lark," Orin gently reminded. He glanced at each of his students before he sighed. "I suppose in a way I understand your fascination. After tragedies people tend to search for good in life just to help reaffirm the belief that it will get better eventually. So, of course, you'd naturally be interested in such things as trivial as my relationship to one of your professors. However, just because I understand it, it doesn't mean either of us are comfortable knowing that our students are discussing our personal life in the dark corners of the castle. Understand?"

Several students nodded.

"Good. Now, let's move on, shall we?" Orin stood a bit straighter. "For today, we shall be doing a practical exercise on—" A door behind the class slowly creaked open.

Toby whirled around instantly when Orin stopped talking. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Celes walk into the room. Did this mean Pomfrey was finally releasing her? It had only been a month and a half this time after all.

"Ah, Miss Martins." Orin quickly gestured to the empty seat next to Toby. "Welcome back."

"Thank you, sir," Celes replied quietly, shuffling to her chair with her large black robes flowing gracefully around her.

"As I was saying," Orin announced, turning away to address the class again, "our practical exercise today will focus on facing our inner demons. We all have them, of course, more now than ever. So, it's important to practice in conquering them before they conquer you." He gave them a curt soft smile before he clapped his hands together. "Now, then, head to your designated spots around the room and wait for further instructions."

The class pushed their chairs back and stood up, heading in their varied spots and breaking off into two-person groups. Toby couldn't help but smile when Celes stood across from him in their spot. He had a feeling class would be better today than it had been for a long time. Normalcy was finally returning to Hogwarts.

* * *

Loud cheers from the crowd rang out as the broom-mounted players zoomed past at alarming speeds. In the stands, a sea of green faced the sea of red. Quidditch was finally upon Hogwarts.

Sitting in the crowded Gryffindor stands, Toby sat in the middle row with Celes on his left, holding her hand. Luna and Hermione sat to Celes's left. Unlike everyone else around him, though, Toby watched the match with mild disinterest. For the life of him, he could not pull himself out of his thoughts to enjoy even a minute of the game.

In his mind, he kept returning to the other day when he had viewed Celes's memory of the events of the Final Battle. Just as it had been for him in the Shrieking Shack, so it had been for her as well up there in the Headmaster's office. She, too, had been bathed in the warm Hogwarts' colored radiant lights and had heard the strange ethereal voices. Like him, Hogwarts had saved her as well. But for what reason was the main question plaguing his mind currently. Had the castle and all its magical inhabitants saved her because of him? Or was there a bigger plan? Were they being thrust into another scheme for the Greater Good? Or—

"Ouch," Celes whispered next to him.

Toby quickly snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at her. He caught her pained wince instantly and then noticed Hermione's pointed look directed at him. Had he hurt Celes accidentally? He tried to pull his hand back from hers, only to have Celes squeeze his hand back hard.

"Celes?"

"I'm fine, Toby. It's nothing." She drew in a slow breath before wincing again and biting her cheek this time, her eyes quickly darting away from his.

He didn't believe her for even a moment. She was always bad at hiding things from him. He opened his mouth to say just that when Luna beat him to speaking.

"Did you know that Fengas feel their mates' pain during pregnancy?" Luna said rather hushed, looking up from the _Quibbler_ she had been previously reading. She had spoken so softly that only Hermione, Toby, and Celes could hear her. "I wonder why it's not like that for us. It'd certainly help lessen any misunderstandings, I think." She then shrugged before she went back to her magazine.

Toby blinked before he glanced at Celes.

"Do you want to—"

"Toby, I'm fine," Celes repeated firmly, finally meeting his eyes again.

"I'm sure Harry would understand," Hermione softly cut in beside them.

Celes sighed heavily. "I'm fine. Really." However, her sudden wince proved she wasn't.

"Let's go. We're seeing Pomfrey," Toby said in his best 'Take no prisoners' voice.

"Absolutely not," Celes replied, giving him a dark look. "I'm fine. It's just a little . . ." she paused for a second as she searched for a word "side ache. I'll live. Trust me."

"But what if it's—"

" _Severus, stop. Now. I'm fine,"_ his wife's soft voice said in his mind, as she held his eyes silently. _"It's just a couple of hard kicks. Nothing to panic about."_

His eyes narrowed as he quickly did the math. Celes snorted on the other hand.

" _It's four months, love. Perfectly normal. You can relax now."_ She gave him a lopsided grin. _"It's not the first time the baby's kicked either. I just wasn't expecting it right then."_

"If it's—" he started to say before he was rewarded with another swift glare.

" _Watch the match. Now, Severus. Or so help me, I will hex you across this field."_

He winced at hearing her anger through their link. Wisely, he turned away and searched the skies for Harry. Last year when she had been pregnant he could have sworn he was in trouble for something with her throughout the entire experience. Granted, he'd admit that they typically didn't see one another a lot due to Death Eaters all around.

Toby had just found Harry circling high above the stands when he felt a quick—something, a tap or a bump?—against the palm of his hand. He turned back towards Celes instantly and glanced down at his hand, finding that his hand was now resting atop of her stomach. The grin quickly spread across his face at the realization that he had just felt his child's kick.

"You look like an idiot," Celes muttered, rolling her eyes as she quickly slipped her hand back into his and turned back towards the match.

He heard soft laughter next to him, but said nothing. If he looked like an idiot, so be it. He had just felt their baby's kick, and Merlin was it a strong one in his opinion. He had felt their daughter's kick just once, as it had been the only time he had allowed himself to be near them for an extended amount of time—in other words two hours. That kick had been like a flutter, like a 'Hi, Daddy' nudge. This kick, though—it had been so much stronger. Almost as if the baby was saying, 'I'm here, Daddy, and I'm not going anywhere.'

"You know, I read an interesting article the other day about expecting couples," Hermione quietly said, leaning towards them. "It said that while the experience is nerve racking and overwhelming, it eventually makes the parents' relationship grow stronger as a couple."

Toby glanced at the young woman and raised an eyebrow. He then found himself wondering how Granger had figured out that Celes was pregnant. He couldn't recall either Celes or himself telling her. However, he quickly scolded himself at being so stupid. Of course Granger would figure out that Celes was pregnant. The young woman was only the most observant witch in her year.

"How fascinating," he said dryly, turning his attention back to the match.

"Don't mind him, Hermione. He's just a big grump," Celes teased, squeezing his hand lovingly.

Granger softly laughed again. "Yeah, so I've noticed."

Doing his best to ignore the girls, he continued to watch Harry chase after the Golden Snitch. When the young man suddenly dove towards to the ground, Toby inhaled sharply. Just what in the hell was that blasted boy doing now? Toby didn't see the Snitch anywhere near the ground, but he knew there had to be some reason Harry had taken such an unexpected nosedive towards the ground. After a few more seconds of watching the young man heading at breakneck speed, Toby reached for his wand, ready to cast a quick protective charm on the young man. Instinct drove his every action. However, before he could mouth the spell, Harry shot straight up like a rocket.

"What the hell is he up to?" Toby quietly muttered under his breath, his hand curled around his wand as his eyes were trained on Harry.

"Likely some dunderheaded stunt meant to give people heart attacks," Celes replied just as quietly beside him. "Though, you have to admit. He's certainly giving us something to talk about at the party later. That is if he doesn't break his neck first."

He frowned in response. When Harry flew up and over their stands a moment later, Toby felt his mood darken even more. He had protected the boy for eight years, did his best to keep him safe and far from the Dark Lord. And what did the boy do once the big bad evil wizard who made their lives hell had finally been vanquished? The idiot child had decided to still scare the hell out of Toby. When would he finally get a break?

Another gasp near him quickly pulled him back to reality. Had the baby kicked again? His head snapped towards Celes as his eyes frantically glanced her over. She looked fine to him. Soon after, though, she stood, which caused him to do the same. He then rapidly followed Celes out of the stands, keeping his hand firmly in hers. His mind raced with grizzly possibilities of what was going on as they spiraled down the wooden staircase.

" _Stop panicking, Severus,"_ Celes finally responded through their link when they had reached the ground. She continued walking at her brisk pace towards the castle.

" _I would if you'd tell me what's going on."_

" _Skeeter is here."_

He stopped in mid-step, nearly finding himself falling flat on his face when Celes kept walking. Rita Skeeter was here at Hogwarts?

" _Hermione pointed her out,"_ Celes continued, speaking through their link. _"She likely didn't see us, but I'm not about to take chances."_

He nodded numbly, walking in step with her now. Skeeter at Hogwarts? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He would have thought that Dumbledore would have kept the blasted woman far away. Then again, Dumbledore didn't know that they were there. At least not anymore, thanks to Celes.

This whole thing was utterly ridiculous now. For years he had been the hated man, the one who everyone believed was the enemy. Yet one measly act, allowing Harry to know the truth, had took all that away. So, there he was now, hunted and hounded by the press.

" _I asked Copernicus to ignore them. You did as well, right?"_ He could sense the panic in her.

" _Of course."_

In fact, after the first week of harassment from the press after the Final Battle, he had placed charms to ward Press owls far away from them. His charms actually had worked so well that a few of the other professors stopped receiving their daily subscriptions to the _Daily Prophet_. However, it wasn't just Press owls they had to deal with. They soon started receiving owls from the Ministry. He did his best to ignore them, but after a while he warded against Ministry owls as well.

" _Good."_ He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

The front doors to the castle swung open the moment they reached the steps. It was almost as if the castle was trying to protect them as well. They rushed inside and up the stairs, heading towards the Ravenclaw dorms.

Once behind the closed door in Toby's room, Celes headed to his bed and sat down on the edge, glancing warily at him. He gave her a returned warm smile and sat beside her.

"Better?"

"Getting there," she quietly replied.

"Good."

A comfortable silence fell around them then and lasted for a long while. It was odd, but this moment reminded him of the old days, before it had all gone to hell on them. They didn't say a word. There wasn't really a need to. He was by her side just as she was by his.

"Toby?"

He snorted and glanced down at her. Or maybe words did need to be said.

"Everyone is figuring out."

"I've noticed." He hesitated for a moment, unsure of himself, before he rested his head against hers gently. "Does that upset you?" he asked quietly, wondering if she was going to pull back from him.

She shrugged. "Not as much as before, I guess." She then leaned into him further, as if drawing strength from him. "I mean, I know it's going to happen eventually and they're all going to know at some point. Just . . . well, you saw the owls we had. Everyone is just plain mad about all this. I just need a few more months. That's all."

"They're curious." He sighed then and added under his breath a moment later, "Unfortunately."

"Have you been reading the _Prophet_ still?"

"Not lately," he admitted with a sigh. "I've caught bits and pieces of it, though."

"They think we wanted all this darkness. That we planned it all."

"And we both know the truth," he replied. "It's just a mystery to them right now, and they're all desperate to figure it out first. So, they distort things and twist it to fit their narrative."

"Well, it's stupid."

He laughed and nodded slowly. "You've really adopted the adolescent attitude, you know?" When she gently pushed him playfully, he laughed more.

A knock against his door drew their attention a moment later. He sighed inwardly before he stood up. When he felt a swat to his bum soon after, he whirled around and caught Celes's wide grin before she disappeared behind his bathroom door. He rolled his eyes, though, and turned back to the door, opening it. His eyes narrowed when he came face-to-face with Harry, who was still wearing his Quidditch uniform.

"Potter?"

"Uh," the young green-eyed man started to say, glancing around nervously. "Is, um, Celes here with you by chance?"

"She's in the bathroom."

"Oh. Good." Harry nodded jerkily before he rubbed the back of his neck.

Toby crossed his arms. "Why? What's going on?"

Harry quickly reached behind himself to grab something out of his waistband. He then held out a rolled-up _Daily Prophet_ to him.

Toby frowned in confusion, but skimmed the front page. His eyes widened instantly the second he read the headline.

"That's tonight's edition," Harry said rather hushed.

"How'd—you were just playing."

"Yeah, and we lost pretty much right after you left according to Hermione. But that doesn't matter." Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"Who gave this to you?"

"I don't know. There was a large crowd all around me once I landed." His green eyes darted towards the closed door. "Thought you should know before you two come down to the party."

"We likely won't be there now," Toby sighed, glancing back at the headline.

Harry hung his head and dug his shoe into the ground. "It probably won't sway you, but a lot of people are supporting you guys. They're not believing that crap printed in there." His green eyes then darted behind Toby. "Hello, Celes."

"Harry," she softly said, clearly smiling as she walked back into the room. "What's going on?"

Toby closed his eyes, knowing that she couldn't see his face. He'd have to tell her.

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to go to the party tonight," he stated quietly, refusing to turn around and see the disappointed look on her face. She had been ecstatic at hearing the news of a party, of having a chance to get away from it all again. To be a normal everyday young couple.

"Why?"

"Because some git went to the _Prophet_ and told them that you two were here pretending to be exchange students," Harry answered, cutting in before Toby had a chance.

"Everyone knows?" she whispered.

Toby could hear the tremble in her voice and turned around. He quickly moved over to her and pulled her into his arms, embracing her warmly.

"Everything's fine, Celes," he said softly, wishing once again that he could give her all his strength and take all her pain away. "You're safe."

"It's not all bad, Professor," Harry offered. "Most aren't believing the crap in there. And, well, some of us figured it out awhile back."

"You don't understand," she replied shakily, pulling back and glancing at Harry. "They—every detail—" She then scoffed before shuddering. "Hell, I had people asking if I purposely killed our—" Her voice broke, and she quickly wiped away the streams of tears.

"Those people clearly suck, Professor," Harry declared. "And need serious help if they think that. But I'm telling you—"

"We lied, Harry. We lied repeatedly to everyone. We told them we were students . . . we made them think . . . After everything they went through . . . after everything they faced . . ." She let out a shaky breath. " _I_ lied."

"To protect yourself, I know," Harry said with a shrug. He then glanced at Toby, who stared at him with narrowed eyes. "And I bet deep down that he knew that too. But, I mean, let's face facts here. We've all lied this year in some way or another. So they don't have any grounds to get upset over it."

"I lied, Harry. I led everyone to believe that . . . that I was some fifteen-year-old girl who came here from Beauxbatons and who couldn't relate to their problems whatsoever. But that's not even the worst of it. I lied to everyone about—I let them believe that all this . . . all of it was serving some higher purpose when it was only to protect myself, to make myself feel better, to escape it all."

Toby didn't move or even breathe after hearing her admission. He'd have been lying to himself royally if he didn't admit that he knew deep down that her wanting to be adolescents again had all been a way to escape her pain. He even had spoken to Pomfrey about it once, he recalled. However, there was more to it than just that.

Again, Harry shrugged. "So, you took it to the extreme. I think taking into consideration what you went through, it's forgivable, even understandable." He dragged his foot along a tile's edge. "You lost a child. A child you had to hide from the world because of who her father was." The young man sighed loudly. "I mean, from what it sounds like he was telling me, your entire relationship was hidden. So you did what you had been doing. You hid behind this mask of pain and put on a brave face. Only you didn't want to hide him anymore, hide what you felt for him any longer, so . . . Celes was born." He glanced sideways at Toby briefly before returning to her. "And he followed, wanting to make sure you knew that he was there for you always. That he'd do his best to support you in whatever way you needed in order to heal. Because, honestly, Professor, it sounds to me like you supported him when no one else would and when even he wasn't appreciative of it at the time."

"I didn't turn my proposal in. I wrote it, but . . ." She drew in a sharp breath. "I left it on the table." Her eyes slowly wandered over to her husband's. "I asked Albus for the sabbatical. I doubt he was even really paying attention to me when I asked. He seemed to have enough on his mind."

"Why didn't you tell me, Aurora?" Toby asked, betrayal deeply seeded in his tone.

She glanced down, aware that Harry was still there. "You would have said no."

"So? You could've at least explained to me that you hadn't sent in your proposal. That this wasn't for an experiment at all."

"I did," she whispered.

"No. I'm rather certain I'd have remembered that." His eyes then narrowed when she pulled out the journal he had gotten for her. She had written it?

"I left it behind after one of my sessions with Pomfrey and she saw it."

"When?" He stared at her, recalling an earlier conversation he had with the matron.

"Before we learned I was pregnant."

"That's why she spoke with Sheridan," he said aloud, finally understanding that puzzle.

"What? Huh?" were Harry and Celes's replies.

"Poppy spoke with your Oxford professor. I had wondered why. She had, of course, said it was for a mental background on you, but it seemed off to me at the time because they had ended up speaking about your proposal."

"Well, Sheridan had a rough draft of it, but she never received the final copy."

"Not to interrupt here, but can I just say something real quick?" Harry cut in again.

"What?"

"What I was trying to say before was that you can't keep putting your lives on hold and avoid all this." Harry shrugged. "From my perspective at least, people might be a little hurt or whatever that you conned them, but you did leave a bigger mark than what you think. A good mark, I mean." He gave her a soft polite smile. "If you go down there right now to the party and show them that you're healing, it'll give some of them hope. In fact, both of you actually are clearly healing and moving on from what I see. And you've been helping all of us . . . in our own ways." He shrugged. "I mean, I never would have had my discussions with you, sir," he said, holding Toby's eyes "if it weren't for you being less intimidating as a teenager. You're showing us that second chances do happen. That things can get better. And it's something we all need to learn."

"Perhaps I misjudged you, Harry," Toby quietly admitted.

"No, sir. You were right. I was lazy and I did become rather arrogant at times."

"All of this doesn't help, though," Celes spoke up. "They will still remember—"

"Trust me, Professor. When I left the pitch, most of the people around me were going to round Justin up and string him up."

"Justin?" she repeated with narrowed eyes.

Toby blinked, feeling oddly hot right then under the collar.

"Yeah, Finch-Fletchley," Harry replied with a shrug. "He was the one who went running to the _Prophet_ the other day after Toby pretty much laid him out on the floor I hear."

"What?" Celes exclaimed, her eyes darting up.

"For the record, I didn't hit him," Toby countered. "He hit me. I may, however, have retaliated by using a certain piece of information told to me in confidence."

"What'd you say?"

He winced, scolding himself silently for admitting that in front of her. "Something like, 'At least he has a girlfriend when all you have is your pathetic little fantasies about a professor."

"Severus!" Celes exclaimed.

He heard Harry's amused snort instantly. "I assure you that if I knew the little git was going to run to the _Prophet_ , I'd have said a lot worse to him than that then."

"I cannot believe you."

He couldn't help but smirk, sensing their familiar, playful bantering returning slowly. "Well, you did know when you married me that I was a bit of a git who doesn't play fair usually."

"Oh, hush," she said, pushing him lightly. "This is all your fault."

"Hey, I wasn't the one who lied about a supposed experiment she was running, Aurora," he gently reminded, catching Harry's smile.

"No, but you did tick off a young man you knew had feelings for me."

Toby shrugged listlessly. "I don't play well with others when someone I love is involved."

"That's true. I've seen it," Harry interrupted with a soft laugh.

"I take it then that you think we should still go down there, Harry?"

The young man smiled faintly. "I think that as long as he's by your side, Professor, that you're safe because he'll likely hurt anyone who messes with you," Harry replied honestly. "At least that's been my experience with him." They all laughed.


	18. Return to the Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Many apologies for the long delay. Some of you have expressed concerns about the lack of Harry/Luna. Please be patient with me, dears. I'm trying to set everything up for the other pairings. Unfortunately, I'm rather new to writing other pairings so it's taking a bit to figure out how to get the relationships right. Thank you for continuing to stick it out with me. And, yes, Scandal fans, this title is a reference to the formidable Olivia Pope. I've been watching a lot of it lately. Enjoy.

With Celes in his bathroom changing her clothes for the party, Toby found himself alone with Harry again. He had thought that the young man would have excused himself the moment Celes stated that they would still attend the party, but Harry didn't for some reason. So there they remained.

"Potter," Toby sighed finally, unable to take any more of the boy's loitering. His eyes darted to the young man. "Say what's on your mind and be done with it already. Will you?" He caught Harry's instant flinch and bit his cheek to keep from sighing yet again.

"Sorry. I, I'll just go."

Flicking his wand at the door, though, Toby prevented him from getting out of it that easily. "Talk, Harry." When the young man's shoulders slumped, he crossed his arms. "Unless you'd rather I test your Occlumency skills again and find out myself?" he drawled. "Entirely your choice."

"No. Uh, no, I . . ." Harry ran a hand through his messy hair before he hung his head. He then glanced hesitantly towards the bathroom door and sighed. "It's fine, sir."

"I sincerely doubt that, Potter. Now, out with it." He frowned when Harry gave him a rather pathetic 'Do I have to?' look. "Mr. Potter, now."

"All right. Fine. It's, well, it's ridiculous, but, um, I . . ." Harry then sighed before he started to pace about the room. "It's just, well, I've been talking to Madam Pomfrey a lot."

"And?"

The young man winced, his head lowering even further. "She seems to be under the impression that I, um, well, that I feel guilty about—"

"You did not kill anyone but the Dark Lord, Harry," he cut in, giving Harry a pointed look.

"No. I know that. It's not that, sir. It's, well, I—she thinks that the reason I can't deal with losing . . ." His voice trailed off for a moment before he inhaled sharply. "Ginny is because . . . because I, well, because I feel guilty for . . ." His head then snapped up as his eyes found Toby's. "I thought I loved her, you know? I thought she was the one. But . . I, I don't think she was."

Toby's eyes narrowed on the young man.

"I, I mean, I loved her, certainly. But . . . not the way I thought I did."

"You loved her like a friend?" Toby offered quietly.

"Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I guess, maybe more like a sister really." Harry then forced a harsh laugh. "Which is rather horrifying to think actually. I broke up with her before we went hunting for the Horcruxes," Harry admitted, leaning against the door for a moment. "At the time, I said it was to protect her. But, I mean, other than a few times I don't think I really . . . thought that much about her." His green eyes found Toby's again. "That sounds horrible, I know."

"It's fine." He shrugged. "You need to get this out. Clearly. So don't worry about the optics."

Harry gave him a faint smile and sighed. "I was lying to myself. Still am actually."

"Oh?"

"I wanted to love her, I think. Ginny, I mean. Because she was . . . we liked Quidditch. And . . ." Harry laughed quietly, shaking his head. "When I first met her in the summer before my second year, she was all sweet on me. She'd barely say a word, and I found it cute in a way. And after I saved her, she was . . . she cared for me. But back then, I wasn't interested. In fact, later when I was interested in girls, I cared for Cho instead."

Toby nodded slowly. He had noticed the boy's idiotic tendencies whenever the Ravenclaw was around. The whole staff had actually.

"And then Cedric happened . . . and reality sort of hit, I guess."

He wondered for a moment where Harry was going with all this.

"I'm not making much sense, am I?" Harry suddenly asked, looking entirely miserable.

"No, but continue. You'll tie it all together soon, I'd imagine."

Harry quietly laughed and nodded. His mood darkened soon after. "It's . . . sad, but I think she's right, though. Pomfrey I mean. I think I do feel guilty about Ginny. Not that she died, because I know I didn't kill her. Bellatrix did. But I, well, I dated her because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. That it was the acceptable thing to do. Not because I loved her."

"So, you feel guilty for not loving her like a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, maybe, I don't know." Harry then sighed. "It's weird, but I felt . . . I don't know . . . something more this year being around Luna than I ever did with Ginny."

"Ah." So that was what Harry was feeling guilty about.

"That makes me horrible, doesn't it?"

"No. Not any more than me moving on from your mother."

"Yeah, but you loved my mother."

Toby shrugged. "Or at least that's what I thought at the time." He gave the young man a soft smile. "Adolescents have a tendency to make rather rash and entirely emotionally charged decisions. Or so I'm told."

"So then that's all this could be, right?" Harry asked hopefully.

"That's all _what_ could be?"

"Uh . . ." Harry glanced down again.

"Eloquent as usual, I see." He smirked when Harry's head snapped back up.

"This isn't easy, Snape."

"Things rarely are, Potter." He met Harry's challenging look and waited.

"You don't understand."

"Oh?" He crossed his arms once more. "I don't understand the need to feel guilt for wanting to move on and share my life with another woman after losing your mother? Really? I don't understand?" He raised an eyebrow when Harry glared at him. "Fascinating."

"It took you years, Snape."

"It did," he agreed with a shrug. "But I'm hardly one to model normal behavior after." He then sighed quietly. "Tell me, Harry. Are you confused by your feelings?"

"No. At least I don't think so."

"Then why are you fighting so hard against them?"

"Why am I . . . It hasn't even been a year since Ginny's death!"

"But you admitted it yourself, Mr. Potter, that you had moved on long before her death."

"What?" Harry blinked in clear confusion.

"You admitted to having not really thought that much about her while you were searching for the Horcruxes," he pointed out.

"Oh." He then scratched his head. "So, wait, are you saying that I . . . that—"

"You fell out of love with her, if you ever actually were, shortly after dating her, yes. You likely realized subconsciously that your reasons for dating her were unjustifiable."

"But . . ."

"Allow me to ask you this, Harry. Why do you believe you _had_ to date Miss Weasley? That it was the expected and socially accepted thing to do?"

When he noticed the young man's eyes narrow, he knew he had asked the right question. He waited several moments for Harry to answer, but decided soon after watching the young man struggle for words to help him out even further.

"Everyone you met mentioned your parents at some point in time, I'd imagine."

"Yeah. But what's that got to do with it?"

"Everything, I'm afraid," he replied with a shrug. He shook his head when Harry continued looking rather confused. "Long flowing red hair? Brilliant at Potions and Charms? Dare I say it, fiery to the point of being downright scary when one she loves is being threatened?"

"Stop. Just stop it," Harry begged, his voice cracking slightly as he looked away rather ashamed. His arms came tightly around his midsection. "I remember what . . . what Ginny was like."

"Who said I was describing Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter?" When he caught Harry's sad eyes, he sighed quietly. "Your mother fit that description as well. We both know this."

Harry shook his head, though. "No. No. I . . . but that's . . ."

"I'm not claiming that you dated Miss Weasley because you were enamored by your mother," he stated flatly. "I am, however, suggesting the possibility that you dated her because of the . . . shall we say . . . optics of the relationship. A messy-haired, glasses-wearing Quidditch star reunited with his redheaded, brilliant and extremely kind loving witch?"

Harry's head fell forward and his shoulders slumped instantly.

"Everyone voiced their longings to have just one more moment with your parents. You were merely trying to give that to us, I'd imagine, sacrificing yourself in the process."

He let the silence fall around them for a few moments, knowing that if he went any farther he'd be pushing Harry off the emotional cliff he was on.

"So I dated her for everyone's happiness?"

"I don't know. Only you know your own heart, Harry."

More silence enveloped them, but Toby merely waited patiently.

"It's sort of funny," Harry quietly whispered, his hand coming up to run through his messy hair.

"Oh?"

"She was dating Dean at the time. And it'd upset me all the time to see him treat her so badly. Because she deserved better than that." The young Gryffindor then scoffed. "My first instinct was, well, it was I loved her like an older brother loves his little sister. I mean, we grew up together practically."

"But?"

"I don't know. I, we won the match and . . . I just kissed her. On the lips."

"I gathered that much, Potter."

"Yeah." Harry then sighed. "I wanted Ron to say something, I think. To stop it. But he didn't. So, I figured it was what I was supposed to do."

Toby pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Adolescents. They were known for being dense at times.

"Oh dear Merlin, I can't believe I'm going to ask this. But, did you enjoy the kiss at all?"

"I, um, I don't know. Everyone was so happy about us. I . . . I thought I liked her."

His hand came up and covered his eyes. They were going around in circles.

"No one is doubting that you didn't care for her at some point. However, like most adolescent relationships, one person moved on and left the other behind. You realized the truth, Harry. You just couldn't accept it then because of everyone else and their wants. So guilt built up inside until her death forced you to confront it head on for the first time."

"But doesn't that make me horrible?"

"For what? Realizing that you could no longer live a lie and continue the charade? No, Harry. That makes you human. But if you're referring instead to not giving much thought about her while hunting the Horcruxes, that hardly is damning either. You had bigger and more important things to worry about than your love life. Was her death a tragedy? Yes. However, continuing the lie for other people's benefits would be even more of a tragedy, Mr. Potter."

"So, then I should ask Luna out in your opinion."

Toby sighed and shook his head.

"I don't understand, sir."

"That's the problem. You're only looking for the ending, not what comes before it. Enjoy the present, Harry, the here and now. Whatever will happen will happen. Trust me."

"But-"

"Do you think I was looking for love after losing your mother? That I was looking for my second chance in life?" He raised a brow when Harry frowned. "I wasn't. I only cared about keeping you safe. That's it. I didn't even factor into the endgame, Harry. My happiness didn't matter."

"That's hardly inspiring, sir."

"It's not supposed to be. That's the point." He exhaled quietly. "You have a chance to live for yourself now. To be your own man. So, figure out who you are before you even think about anyone else. Because without that foundation, you will always find yourself in an unhappy situation, regretful of your decisions later in life."

"So, are you saying that-"

"He's saying, Harry, that you need to stop looking for the right answer," a soft voice said from the doorway.

Turning to look over there, Toby noticed that Celes had removed her blue streaks from her hair. In fact, she looked more like herself. Just younger. She was even wearing her traditional midnight blue robes that she clearly had shrunk to size. Their time as Toby and Celes was finally coming to an end.

"Because there is no right or wrong answer to it," Celes continued. "Whatever it is, only you are going to know it. No one else. And you likely won't even know it until long after you made the decision."

"Oh."

"Do you understand now?"

"Sort of. I guess." Harry scratched the top of his head and shrugged. "You're saying that if Luna's the woman I'm destined to be with, it'll happen regardless of whatever I do. So the best thing I can do is to just live my life and let things...happen when they happen."

Toby snorted. "Something like that, yes."

"Why are you even worried about something like that, Harry? You have the rest of your life to figure things out."

"I know, but..." Harry sighed. "If this experience has taught me one thing, it's that life is temporary. And I don't want to waste any time and miss anything."

"Do you care for Luna?" she asked suddenly, holding his look.

"Like a friend or...?"

"When she's away, do you miss her?"

"Yeah."

"And do you get angry when you find out that someone has hurt her?"

"Yes."

"And would you do anything to protect her, to keep her safe?"

"I would," Harry answered instantly.

"And if she was with another guy dancing tonight, would you be angry about that too?"

"Depends on the guy, I suppose," he said with a listless shrug.

"If it was Neville?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because they're just friends."

"But what if you came across him kissing her in the rose garden? Then what?"

Toby glanced at Celes and raised an eyebrow at her. He caught her faint smile instantly.

"I, I'd be upset."

"Oh?" She crossed her arms, meeting her husband's look. "Why?"

"Because it should've been me kissing her. Which is what I'm trying to say, Professor. What if while I'm waiting to figure things out with myself, someone else makes a move and I lose her as well?"

"Then don't be like Severus and punch the other man because of your unspoken jealousy."

Toby glared at her, shaking his head. "You're never going to forget that, are you?"

Harry blinked and glanced at both of them. "Wait. What?"

"During your Yule Ball, I went outside to get some fresh air," she explained, her tone light. "Karkoff followed me out. We spoke cordially to one another. And he kissed me. On the cheek, I might add. And Severus promptly strode across the courtyard and punched him."

Harry burst out laughing instantly.

"How was I to know that he kissed you on the cheek? You were both turned away from me," he groused.

"Karkoff refused to speak or be anywhere near me after that."

"The part she's bitter over, of course," he commented, waving his hand dramatically.

"I'm not bitter. You acted like a jealous arse. When there was no need to be. You knew perfectly well where I stood. So you had no right to act like that."

"I had every right to!" he replied frowning.

"Oh? How so?"

"You were consorting with a known Death Eater."

"And yet you overlook that when I'm 'consorting' with you, dear," she pointed out with a smirk.

Harry snickered quietly. "I can see why you two are married now." He then shook his head, still smiling faintly. "Though, you've made your points. I get it. I should just focus on me. But... she's been there more for me than anyone else." He nodded slowly, clearly making his mind up about something. "I'll see you guys later. There's something I have to do." He turned away and left soon after.

"He's going to ask her out, isn't he?"

"Likely," she answered with a soft laugh. "Adolescents rarely listen to their elders."

"Don't we know it?" he said sighing. "You removed your streaks."

"Yeah." She reached for his hand, taking it a moment later. "I'm glad we had the chance to get away from everything for a bit and just pretend we're everyday normal adolescents. But that's all it was. Pretend."

He nodded slowly, not wanting to interrupt her for even a moment.

"I'm sick of all the pretending, all the lying, all the wearing of masks. It was nice walking beside the man I love and not worrying what anyone thought for once, not hearing the doubts of others and their stupid remarks. Not having to justify and defend us."

"I'm sorry."

She forced a soft laugh. "I wasn't looking for an apology. And even if I was, you did nothing wrong." She then closed her eyes, the tension melting from her. "I'm ready to come back into the sunshine, to feel it on my face again."

"You never lost it."

She opened one eye and gave him that familiar look of hers. "Flatterer."

He shrugged. "Slytherin."

"A part of me still says we should run away. But it wouldn't solve anything."

"It wouldn't," he agreed. Silence fell around them.

"I'm tired of running, Severus," she said quietly after a few minutes had passed.

He gently wrapped his arms around her and held her silently. "As am I, Aurora." He kept holding her, offering every bit of strength he had to her. It was his turn to be the strong one for them this time.

"Let's go step into the sunlight, shall we?" They left soon afterwards for the party.


	19. Trials and Tribulations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate when bunnies do not cooperate. I've tried repeatedly (since I last updated) to get Harry/Luna in here and only managed to get some hints at it. However, with the big question now answered (in this chapter) of why I saved Albus Dumbledore out of the way, I can get on with what I was trying to accomplish with this story again. Harry/Luna lovers, stay tuned for the teaser at the end for the next chapter. As always, enjoy, loves.

With his hand in hers, they walked down the deserted corridor towards the moving staircases. For months they had worn their masks. So, now not having that layer of protection, it felt strange to him. He would be Severus once more. Severus the traitor, that was.

"Ah, Headmaster, there you are," Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor ghost, suddenly announced as he and the other apparitions floated in the hallway before them. He gave a curt smile towards the both of them before he returned to his business-like tone. "The Aurors are requesting a brief meeting prior to attending the party, sir."

Severus held back his scoff. Of course the Aurors wanted to do this now of all times.

"Shall we inform them that you are otherwise occupied?" asked the Gray Lady.

He glanced towards his wife before he shook his head. "No." He was done lying. He wanted to live in the light again.

"Then, we'll escort them to your office, along with the others." The Friar inclined his head briefly before he and the other ghosts quickly flew off through a wall.

"I apologize—"

"Don't, Severus," Aurora quietly replied, rubbing the back of his hand tenderly. "You have nothing to apologize for. We knew this would happen eventually."

Unfortunately she was right. They did know his past would be brought up once more. It didn't make it any easier, though. He turned away and glanced out the window, sighing quietly.

"You did nothing wrong, Severus," she softly reminded.

This time he did scoff. There was the woman he married, the eternal optimist who would forgive him even if he tried to kill her. Well, perhaps not then, but she did have an annoying habit of forgiving him when others, for good reason, would not.

"You didn't." She then gently grabbed a hold of his face and turned his head back so he'd be looking at her. "Everything that happened can be attributed to Albus and his moronic Greater Good excuse. You did nothing wrong."

He turned his head a bit more before gently kissing her palm. He felt the change in her instantly and knew she understood. He wouldn't continue this ongoing argument of theirs. As her hands fell to her side, he waited for a moment, hesitating slightly, before he grabbed her hand once more. He could feel the tension in her before she finally sighed resignedly and followed him to the Headmaster's office.

* * *

Now situated in the Headmaster's office, Severus calmly regarded the other occupants as they entered the large room. He had expected the Aurors and Albus for obvious reasons. He had not, however, expected the current Heads of Houses walking in behind them.

With his wife sitting by his side, Severus remained perfectly neutral as he waited for everyone else to take their seats at the large table. A part of him wished he could spare Aurora the pain that they would endure, but he knew she'd be stubborn like always and refuse his request.

"Before we begin, is there anything either of you need? Water? Food?" Kingsley, the former Auror, asked, his dark eyes resting on Aurora briefly before darting back to Severus.

"If either of us needs anything, we will call on the elves, Minister Shacklebolt," Aurora replied sharply, giving him an annoyed look.

"Kingsley, please," Shacklebolt corrected gently, giving her a pleasant smile. "But duly noted." He then motioned towards the dark-haired, middle-aged man beside him.

"I'm Auror Hawkins, and this is my colleague Auror Mateo." The dark-haired man motioned to a muscular, dark-skinned man sitting on his other side.

"Just ask your damn questions so we can get this over with once and for all."

Severus bit his tongue to keep from saying anything to his wife. He understood her frustration. He shared the same fears, but it wouldn't do any good to snap at the Aurors clearly.

"Of course, ma'am," Auror Hawkins replied calmly, seemingly brushing off her harsh words. "We'll try to make this as painless as possible."

When she scoffed instantly, Severus squeezed his wife's hand sharply. He caught her surprised look when she glanced at him before she turned away a moment later.

"What would you like to know?" Severus asked soon after.

"Tell us about the events leading up to that day on the Astronomy tower in 1997."

"Concerning the Order?" Severus inquired, keeping his eyes firmly on Hawkins.

"No." Hawkins then leaned forward slightly. "We would like to know how it was possible that you and Professor Dumbledore were able to convince so many of us of his death."

"Not many people could pull that off. Especially not after his being in an already weakened state to begin with," Auror Mateo added on, his dark eyes locked on Severus.

"Prior to his meeting with Mister Potter, Professor Dumbledore drank an elixir that contained Re'em and dragon blood. It allowed him to gain the necessary strength to heal himself if need be."

"This was a potion you brewed for him?"

"Yes," Severus answered honestly. "At the start of the year after his hand had been injured severely, he gave me the instructions for said-potion and stated that I should wait with it until he called upon me to administer it. I was unaware of its effects at the time."

"And you didn't attempt to discover these effects for yourself while you were waiting?"

"No. I had more important things to deal with at the time."

"That would be young Mister Malfoy, correct?" Hawkins inquired.

"It would, yes." Severus nodded slowly. "Professor Dumbledore asked me to keep an eye on the young man after his mother came to see me that summer at my home."

"Where you made the Unbreakable Vow."

"Yes."

"And where were you, ma'am, during all of this? The night Professor Dumbledore supposedly was murdered by your husband, I mean?" Auror Mateo asked, turning his full attention to Aurora a moment later.

"If you're suggesting that I—"

"Ma'am, I'm not suggesting anything," Mateo replied, his voice gentle and soothing. "I'm merely asking about your whereabouts during this time to establish a clear timeline."

Aurora regarded him suspiciously for a moment before she finally answered. "I was asleep."

"In your rooms?" Mateo prodded.

"No. In my husband's."

The two Aurors nodded slightly before they continued.

"Prior to your arrival in the Astronomy Tower that night, you were in your rooms with her?" Hawkins asked, turning back to Severus.

"Only until she fell asleep, yes. After that, I went to my office to mark exams."

Mateo then glanced towards Dumbledore. "When did you take the potion you instructed him to brew for you, sir?"

"Two hours before I returned to the Astronomy Tower with young Harry."

As Mateo wrote something down, Hawkins picked up the line of questioning. "Since we know now that you didn't use the Killing Curse on Professor Dumbledore, maybe you can enlighten us on what you did use."

"I modified the _Petrificus Totalus_ charm. When it hit him, it put him into a dormant state temporarily, similar to a coma I suppose."

"Witnesses stated that you blasted him off the tower, however, sir."

Severus nodded. "And they would be correct. I did. However, as mentioned earlier, he had taken an elixir that had been infused with Re'em and dragon blood."

"In other words, when I hit the ground, I was badly hurt, yes, but physically I was stronger than I had been previously," Dumbledore added, picking up where Severus stopped.

"According to Mister Potter's own recollection, though, sir, you were in a weakened state as a result of the liquid you had consumed prior to arriving back at Hogwarts."

"Yes and no," Dumbledore replied with a listless shrug. "I had been weakened when I was with Harry, yes, but once Severus had casted his spell on me, my body didn't require as much energy as it had before."

"You expect us to believe this?" Mateo said with a scoff.

"What you expect to believe and what you do believe are entirely up to you, young man."

Mateo pursed his lips before he shook head.

"Would Madam Pomfrey not have discovered these measures upon her examination?" Hawkins asked a moment later.

"Likely, but it would have required her to have been willing to look for them, I'm afraid." Dumbledore gave the dark-haired Auror a faint smile. "And, unfortunately, Poppy has always had a soft spot in her heart for me, so she'd have not wanted to disturb me any more than necessary."

"In other words, you knew she wouldn't do a complete exam of you."

"Precisely," Dumbledore replied with a curt nod.

Hawkins frowned before his face returned to its neutral pose. His dark eyes then returned to Severus. He clearly didn't seem to be liking the answers he was hearing.

"Did Professor Dumbledore ask you to kill him?"

"Yes." Severus then drew in a slow breath, the weight slowly coming off him. "Repeatedly." He felt Dumbledore's blue eyes dart to him instantly.

"Why? What was his reasoning?"

"The initial injury to his hand was a result of a dark curse that would slowly spread throughout his entire body over the course of time. He asked me to kill him to spare him the pain and give him some form of dignity over his death." Severus closed his eyes when he felt Aurora rub the back of his hand once more. The anger that he had thought he had left long behind for Dumbledore's callousness for his own well being was still there even to that day. "And between a sixteen-year-old boy who had yet to commit such dark sins as I had—well, I was the obvious choice for his executioner."

"But you didn't kill him," Hawkins stated firmly.

"I did not."

"Why?"

Severus felt Dumbledore's eyes become even more glued onto him. He knew what the old man was thinking, what he was hoping Severus would say. But he was done with that life. So done with it.

"Was it on his orders that you did not kill him? That you would instead fake his death?"

"No." Severus did his best to ignore the piercing blue eyes that were likely commanding him to remain quiet. He raised his head up a bit higher. "I chose not to rip my soul apart any further than it had already been," he answered, his voice firm and steady. "He wished me to kill him. To give him a martyr's death. It was the only way he believed we could achieve success."

"You disagreed, though."

"Unequivocally."

"So he asked you to use an Unforgivable on him and you refused?"

"Yes." Only then did he feel Dumbledore's eyes move away from him.

"I take it you weren't pleased with his decision," Mateo stated quietly.

"I was not," Dumbledore replied, "but he was correct in the end. There had been another way."

"The curse that was in your system, what happened to it afterwards?"

"Once everything had settled down at Hogwarts and I was buried, Severus returned to retrieve me and end the spell. Prior to my waking, however, he removed my hand and spelled my Phoenix Fawkes' tears into me to rid my body of the curse." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Something of which Severus had suggested to me repeatedly over the year."

"What occurred after that?"

"My plans had to be altered obviously. He needed to become Headmaster to ensure that the children would be protected. That could only be achieved if I remained out of the way. So I used one of the empty canvases and spelled myself into it whenever necessary to ensure that the charade of my death was maintained."

Severus heard Aurora's soft intake of breath, recognizing it immediately as a sign that she finally understood something.

"To maintain the illusion on my end," Severus continued, saying aloud what his wife had realized, "I restricted access to the Headmaster's office once I was named headmaster."

"There was an incident of students breaking—"

Severus frowned and inclined his head, recalling that incident perfectly. He had never felt so off guard as he had that day.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood, and Mister Longbottom, yes. They had broken into the office to steal the Sword of Gryffindor. I caught them in the act and sent them to detention with Rubeus Hagrid, whom I knew would keep them safe for the time being."

"Were you allowed to see your husband during this time, ma'am?" Hawkins asked quietly.

"I saw him in passing a few times, but we kept our distance." Aurora then sighed, shaking her head. "The longest time we spent together last year before . . . then was two hours." The silence settled around them soon after for a while as no one spoke.

Mateo finally broke the silence after a few minutes had passed.

"On May 1, when the Death Eaters were summoned, what did you do?" he asked Severus.

"I knew that Harry had to be near after the Carrow twins summoned the Dark Lord. And as it was vital that I gave him the last piece of the puzzle Professor Dumbledore had intentionally held back, I did my best to find him quickly as possible," Severus answered. "However, I was met with opposition." Filius and Minerva instantly hung their heads.

"We thought he was one of them. We didn't . . . if we had known . . ." Filius sighed quietly, his eyes still downcast as his hands remained folded on top of the table.

"Yes, it would seem that would be for everyone unfortunately," Kingsley stated with a sigh.

"Who came across—?"

"I did," Minerva piped up. "I came across Mister Potter and Miss Lovegood inside Ravenclaw Tower after letting Amycus Carrow inside. After we subdued the Carrow twins, Mister Potter informed me that Albus had given him a mission to find certain objects and that . . . Voldemort was on his way to the castle."

"Which is when you three attempted to gather the rest of the staff?"

"More or less, yes. It was on our way to evacuate the castle that we ran across Severus, who had been following us."

Mateo's eyes darted to him.

"As I said before, it was imperative that I tell Harry the truth," Severus explained.

"Which was what exactly?" Hawkins asked quietly.

He closed his eyes briefly before he inhaled slowly and reopened his eyes. "That in order to defeat the Dark Lord and destroy the Horcrux inside himself, Harry would have to sacrifice himself to the Dark Lord in the end." The ugly silence filtered around them again, causing Severus's insides to knot horribly. He felt the knowing eyes on him, waiting to see if he'd reveal all. After all, that wasn't the only thing he had revealed to the boy. As the terrible silence continued, he found that it was harder to maintain his composure. He had to tell them. He had to tell them everything. Even if a certain someone didn't want it revealed ever. Drawing in a short breath, Severus continued, "That up until that point everything Harry had known in his life was a lie orchestrated by Albus Dumbledore." There were several sharp intakes around the room, but Severus merely went on. "Professor Dumbledore had known the minute he had left Harry with his Muggle aunt and her family that the boy would experience a lifetime of hell with them." Severus caught Minerva's eyes immediately and saw that she too had objected to the boy's placement long ago. "In fact, once the boy arrived to Hogwarts and it was clear that he showed classic signs of abuse, Professor Dumbledore still refused to remove Harry from their care over the objections of several members of his own staff."

"Is this true, sir?" Mateo inquired, his dark eyes locked on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore remained silent for a few moments before sighing. "I was misguided, yes."

"Misguided?" Severus sneered, his anger quickly taking hold. When he caught his mentor's eyes, he scoffed and shook his head. The old man clearly hadn't learned a damn thing. Well, Severus could fix that. "You knew what scars would be left as a result of their 'loving' care. You knew and did nothing. Nothing! Because you wanted him to sacrifice himself, to choose death, without knowing if he'd ever make it back to his friends in the end."

"Severus," Dumbledore quietly warned.

"You raised him like a pig for slaughter! As if his life didn't matter!" Severus was shaking with anger now. "As if he was a chess piece in your stupid godforsaken game! Well, guess what, Albus? He won! He survived. Just like the rest of us you've used over the years with our scars that we received because of you and your goddamn quest for the Greater Good."

"Everything I did, I did for—"

"For yourself!" Severus snarled.

"No," Dumbledore replied sharply. "I made mistakes, yes. I don't deny that, Severus. But I did not think that Harry didn't matter. Quite the opposite actually."

"You left him in their care after knowing what they were doing to him."

"But he still called it home, Severus."

"Because that was the only home he knew!" he snapped back. "If he had been placed elsewhere—"

"If he had been placed elsewhere, the protection Lily placed on him would not have worked."

"You said it yourself, though, that the moment the Dark Lord used Harry's blood to resurrect himself, he increased the bond. Harry could have gone elsewhere after his fourth year. As I had suggested and which you blatantly ignored because it didn't fall into your perfect plan!"

"He needed—"

"Love! He needed someone all to himself who loved him, Albus, and you knew that. That's why you denied the frequent requests from the Weasleys, Black, and myself to care for him."

Dumbledore's blue eyes softened sadly. "If he'd had someone as you suggested, Severus, it would have made that decision even harder in the end. You know this."

"There was another way, Albus."

"Perhaps."

Severus glared at him, his jaw locked firmly closed.

"So," Hawkins cut in, steering the conversation back in the right direction a few moments afterwards, "you told Mister Potter the truth before he walked into the forest."

"Not face-to-face, but, yes." Severus sighed, finally breaking his death glare he had locked on Albus. "I gave him vital memories he would need, as I was unable to speak at the time due to a result of injuries I sustained."

"Which would be from the snake Nagini, correct?" Mateo stated.

"Yes." He inhaled slowly, feeling a slight pinch of pain in his neck at hearing the name. "I had returned a few minutes after I had initially fled the castle."

"Why?"

Severus felt Aurora's hand flinch instinctively and sighed as a result. "I returned to find my wife and get her to safety." He watched Mateo and Hawkins nod slowly. "Once I had found her, I Apparated us to our cottage, instructing her to remain there as I returned to find Harry."

"But I didn't listen," Aurora stated quietly. "I Apparated back to the castle, specifically Severus's office. I just, I wanted to find him. To know he was safe. I, I thought at the time that if I didn't return to Hogwarts, I'd be a . . . a widow for sure in the end. I needed to know."

"Forgive me, but wouldn't the anti-Apparation wards around Hogwarts have prevented this?" Hawkins asked, giving them a look.

"Normally, yes, but not in this case clearly," Albus answered, drawing the attention back onto himself. "Hogwarts is a living breathing entity. At least so I have always considered it to be." He gave a soft sad smile. "The castle likely admitted her because it knew her heart and intentions were pure. That she meant no harm but to those who would harm Hogwarts and its children."

The Aurors nodded slowly.

"When you arrived in your husband's office, what happened?"

"I found it empty." Sighing softly, she continued. "Which didn't last long because two Death Eaters entered a few minutes after I had arrived." She glanced down, biting her bottom lip.

The memories quickly flashed in Severus's mind, allowing him to know what was going on with her. She was still understandably shaken by that encounter. But who wouldn't after losing a child?

"And a duel ensued between you," Hawkins politely offered after a few moments had passed and she still had said nothing.

"Yes. Which, um . . ." Her voice faltered again, and she quickly tried to regain her composure. "I gained the upper hand on Dolohov, but lost it with Travers. I . . . I don't remember much after that."

"You have no recollection of how Antonin Dolohov and Michael Travers died?" Mateo inquired.

Severus noticed his wife's blink of surprise.

"They died?" she whispered.

He then caught the Aurors quick looks between one another and frowned. In all the time that had passed, he hadn't thought about that either. He had just been glad he and Aurora had survived.

"Do you know who found you afterwards, ma'am?"

She seemed to think for a moment before she shook her head. That was another thing he hadn't thought to ask himself.

"I see." Hawkins's frown deepened instantly.

"Forgive me for asking," Severus spoke up in order to regain their attention, "but what difference does it make who found her exactly?" He caught the Aurors' eyes and held their challenging gazes. "She was not a part of this. Any of it. I assure you of that. Everything, Professor Dumbledore's supposed-death and my double-agent status, all of it can be attributed back to my choices. Not hers."

"That may be, sir," Mateo replied, "but there were mysterious circumstances surrounding your wife that demand answers."

Shacklebolt quickly cleared his throat before he spoke. "Perhaps we should take a break, hmm?"

"What sorts of 'mysterious circumstances?" Severus repeated, brushing off Shacklebolt's weak attempt at diffusing the situation.

"I take it after you were released from St. Mungo's and returned to Hogwarts, you inspected your office, yes?"

Severus's eyes narrowed. "I did."

"Then you saw to what I'm referring to, sir."

"It had nearly been a month before he was released. The repairs were already well underway by then," Minerva cut in, clearly knowing just what it was the Aurors were asking. "Whatever horrific things found in his office had already been removed and cleaned up."

Severus's head snapped towards Minerva. What on Earth was she talking about?

"I don't understand." Aurora glanced at her husband, clearly confused. "What's he talking about, Severus? What things?"

"Ma'am, may I remind you that you are under oath?" Mateo reiterated quietly, his eyes resting on Aurora. "Now, I ask you again. Do you recall the deaths of—?"

"I think we've covered this topic quite enough for one day," Shacklebolt interrupted once more, giving the two Aurors a stern look.

"Minister!" they cried.

"You received your answers concerning this earlier. She stated that she didn't recall how they died. Which, honestly, is understandable given the events and the trauma she endured. Don't you agree?" Shacklebolt replied, crossing his arms. The Aurors remained silent. "So, let's move on to more recent events."

Hawkins sighed rather resigned and inclined his head.

"Concerning you and your husband's whereabouts for the past few months, ma'am, isn't it true that the both of you intentionally—" Mateo started before he was cut off yet again.

"Are you seriously that mental? All of you?" Pomona asked outraged.

"Professor Sprout, please," Mateo calmly replied.

"If you believe they hatched some sinister plan to overthrow the Ministry or some other horrendous act while pretending to be students, then you are the ones who should be under investigation, not them," Minerva snapped.

"Exactly," Filius piped up to say.

"Of all the things . . ." Horace Slughorn said in clear disgust. "Next, you'll be rounding up all the Slytherins just because of which house they belonged to."

"That's not—" Mateo and Hawkins tried to argue.

"They lost a child. Have you two forgotten that?" Minerva spat out. "A child they had to hide from the world. Pretend that didn't exist out of fear of what others would think. And what do you do instead of letting them grieve after losing said-child?" Minerva pointed her fingers at the two Aurors. "You send subpoena after subpoena after them and hound them, you and the press, all because you want answers to questions we've already answered for you!" She scoffed. "It's no wonder they hid behind masks and pretended to be students here. They just wanted to be left alone for once. To heal. To finally be free of all of us and our petty thoughts."

"Be as that may be, Professor McGonagall, they did willfully attempt to cover—"

"I think we're done here," Shacklebolt interrupted, standing up.

"Sir, need I point out that we are here to—"

"To learn the truth, and we learned it, Auror Mateo," Shacklebolt replied, holding the other man's gaze. "There is no sinister plot going on here. There is only a couple who is grieving for the loss of their child in their own way, clinging to the only way possible to heal out of the public's eye. That's all this is. Unless you believe I have it wrong?"

Hawkins sighed quietly. "No, sir."

"Then, we have all we need."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. So, let's finally leave them in peace." Shacklebolt then slowly approached Aurora and Severus, who quickly stood up. With the other two Aurors on their best behavior now, the Minister began in his usual formal tone. "On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I would like to apologize for the obvious witch hunt that was brought against the both of you these past few months and furthermore for bringing the regrettably painful reminders of the past up again. It's understandable to me why you would resort to such drastic measures, considering to which lengths my Ministry unfortunately went in order to uncover the suspected truth. There was no ill will here from either of you, just as I knew it would be learned." He sighed heavily, his eyes closing briefly in obvious sadness. "One's perception of the truth does not always mean it is the _actual_ truth. Sometimes it's just . . . a mask meant to protect loved ones." He then turned towards the Aurors before he turned back. "Based on the results and what we learned here today, it is clear what happened. While the method was extreme, the point is clearly heard. Neither one of you deserve to be hounded as you were during such a painful time. Nor did either of you deserve to have to hide your true selves away." He shook his head. "No one should have to hide his love for another. And certainly no one should have to justify that love either. The charges of obstruction of justice is hereby dropped for both of you."

"Minister Shacklebolt, I object," Hawkins declared.

"Look at them, Hawkins. Really look at them. Do they look like they give a damn about who the hell is in charge of the Ministry right now?" Hawkins remained silent. "As Minerva said earlier, we were given our answers by the others. They've given us all the answers we need to make our case. Now, do you disagree with my findings?"

Hawkins sighed again, shaking his head. "I do not."

"Good." Shacklebolt then caught Aurora's gaze. "Then we'll take our leave."

The two Aurors quickly said their goodbyes before they turned and headed for the doors with Shacklebolt. Severus's eyes followed them the entire way, his mind working out the mysteries they had left behind. What had this all been about exactly? What case were they trying to make? He glanced briefly towards the others and watched the Heads of Houses and Albus quietly leave as well.

"Severus?" Aurora softly said once they were alone.

"I'm at a loss as well, Celes," he replied with a frown. "But we're going to find out." He held his hand out to her and gave her a faint smile when she took it without any hesitation. Within a second, they had vanished from the room and reappeared in the entrance hall, a few feet behind Minister Shacklebolt and the two Aurors who were making their way for the doors as curious students looked on from the doors to the Great Hall. "Minister, if I might have a moment of your time," Severus announced a few seconds afterwards. He caught the two Aurors flinching instantly.

Shacklebolt whirled around, though, with a faint smile. "Please, Headmaster. It's Kingsley." He then motioned towards a vacant area where they could speak privately. Severus briefly glanced at Aurora before he walked over there alone as she headed over to speak with Luna, who stood away from the other students.

"What was this? What case are you trying to establish exactly?"

Shacklebolt gave a soft laugh and shook his head. "It was never about prosecuting you and Aurora, Headmaster. The Aurors—to put it mildly, they believed that without your corroboration on several key facts, they would be unable to bring a highly controversial case before the Wizengamot. As I'm sure you can understand, they were very concerned when they couldn't reach either of you so to put it bluntly they panicked."

"You still haven't answered my question, Kingsley."

He nodded slowly. "You're right. I haven't." He then sighed, taking a step closer to Severus. "During the course of their investigation, they learned of the—shall we say—interesting methods Albus implemented while things were becoming darker for our world. You must understand that since Rita Skeeter's book was published, there have been concerns about him in the back of the Aurors' minds lately. Add on top of that his faking his death and all his meddling."

"They believe he's going to overthrow the Ministry now?"

"No, Severus. The Ministry is looking for someone to blame."

"Then place it where it belongs. With the Dark Lord."

Shacklebolt sighed. "If only it was that easy. Since Harry's interview, I must say I've had doubts about him as well. Even the castle itself, I'm told, doesn't trust him anymore."

Severus's eyes narrowed.

"With this whole Horcrux and Hallows thing coming out, it's as you said, Severus. There was another way. One that wasn't even discussed."

"There is no way to know, though, if taking a different path would have—"

"That is one of many things he must answer for, I'm afraid. You mentioned yourself the fact that he knowingly placed Harry with abusive Muggles over the objections of others. Take into fact as well about his ordering you to kill him. We won't even approach the issues concerning his overlooking certain abusive tendencies by some of his employees. He sacrificed some of us, Severus. You admitted as such back there. No one, Ministry or otherwise, gets to play god. The evidence—it all speaks to the fact that—and I cannot believe I am about to say this—that Albus Dumbledore was no different from Voldemort."

"In other words, the Aurors needed to hear me say his crimes aloud to verify the truth."

"Yes. And you did."

"What about Aurora, though?"

"Ah." Shacklebolt shook his head before he reached into his robes and pulled out a photograph. "This is why they were questioning her."

Severus's eyes flickered down at the photograph. The moment he saw the grizzly scene of the two dead Death Eaters, he closed his eyes and looked up.

"They believe she did that?"

"They found her magical signature on them, I'm afraid, Severus." Shacklebolt briefly rested a hand on his arm, though. "It's my understanding, though, that what occurred was deemed self-defense."

"She doesn't recall anything after that. A bright light, yes, but—"

"Severus, it's all right," Shacklebolt reiterated. "We know. The Aurors just needed to hear her repeat that for the record."

His eyes narrowed on the former Auror. They knew? The only way they would know is if . . . "You viewed her memories?"

"Not me personally, but, yes." The moment it was clear that Severus was about to snarl some particular harsh words, Shacklebolt added, "I was not aware of this until after the fact. The Auror in charge—he wanted to clear that case quickly and rule it as self-defense. And as I'm sure you're aware, Aurors are able to submit one's memories as evidence even if the person is unconscious."

"And myself?"

"A few days after the battle, the Ministry approached Harry to ask him if there was anything he wished for as a gesture of our gratitude. His reply was that he wanted us to expunge your record and see you as the hero that you are. I happily granted that request, Severus."

"I see." Severus crossed his arms. "And to what do I owe the Ministry now, Minister?" He should've known there would have been a catch. There was always one. Everyone wanted something after all. Life had taught him that. Nothing came for free.

"You owe us nothing. Not after everything you went through in silence for us." Shacklebolt's eyes then trailed over to Aurora, who was speaking quietly with Luna. "She always talked so highly about you with so much love in her voice. I could never understand what she saw in you." He turned back to Severus. "Why she loved you and not me." He gave a soft self-deprecating laugh. "I see it now. I mean, she said yes to a date with me once, but I knew she wouldn't come in the end."

Severus sighed inwardly. Had it not been for his interfering with her date and sending Kingsley elsewhere, who knows what would have happened? "She had, Kingsley," Severus stated quietly. "She waited at least an hour before returning to Hogwarts. You were deceived, yes, but not by her. I was the one who sent you to the other restaurant that night, not her."

Kingsley gave a soft chuckle. "I should've known. Did you ever tell her to the truth about what was really going on with her dates?"

"Eventually," Severus admitted. "As you can imagine, she was not amused."

"I bet not." He then held his hand out to him, which Severus shook instantly. "To the better man." His eyes then trailed briefly back over to Aurora before he pulled his hand back. "Until next time, Headmaster." With a turn, he then motioned to the two Aurors and they left Hogwarts.

Severus quickly returned to his wife's side.

"They must have gotten to him. It's the only explanation," Luna stated.

"Or maybe he decided that it'd be nice to go with a friend?" Aurora replied with a smile, her eyes sparkling when she glanced at her husband. He clearly was missing something.

"No. It has to be them. They were the reason he asked me to Professor Slughorn's party a few years back. The others didn't understand, of course, why he'd take me of all people. Loony Lovegood," she said with a shrug.

"Luna, you're a very lovely girl. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their friend."

She glanced up at Aurora with a slight coy smile. "You're a good mother, Professor."

Severus heard his wife's sharp inhale suddenly and reached for her hand.

"Thank you," she replied to the insightful Ravenclaw. "I like to think I will be as well." She then returned Luna's smile.

"We should go," Severus said quietly. She nodded in return.

"Just a moment." She then turned back to Luna. "I don't think they're to blame for his asking you tonight, Luna. And I would wager you don't think they're to blame either."

The young witch sighed softly and glanced down at her feet. "He cares for me unfortunately, which will only cause him pain as he remembers the past."

"Sometimes, Miss Lovegood, pain is needed in order to find the strength to move on, though," Severus offered.

She nodded, clearly agreeing. "Perhaps I will go with him after all. He certainly does need the distraction." Luna smiled brightly at them before she turned away and headed through the crowd.

"What happened to protecting the little brats from heartbreak?" Severus muttered under his breath as he and his wife headed for the staircases.

"Oh, who are you fooling this time, grumpy bat?" Aurora replied just as equally soft. "You care about them just as much as I do."

He gave a quiet snort and rolled his eyes. "No one cares about them as much as you do." They silently headed up the stairs, all thoughts about attending the party far from their minds.

"Are you certain there is no counter for this, Severus?" she asked a few moments later.

"Positive." He then shook his head. "It's why I chose this particular potion in the first place. To ensure that it remained in full effect." He glanced at her when he heard her faint sigh. "It is hardly ideal, I'm aware, but there is nothing I can do, Celes."

"It's not that. It's just . . . now what? Everyone knows we're not Celes and Toby anymore. So we can't pretend to be them. So, what now?"

"Now, we deal with the consequences of our running," he answered honestly, "and live our life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An hour had passed since they arrived in Hogsmeade with Harry and Luna, and Severus was ready to head back to the castle already. It was only because of his wife that he didn't.
> 
> "You know, I never thanked you for helping me escape, Luna," Harry quietly said as they walked past Madam Puddifoot's burned-out building.
> 
> The dishwater blonde, however, only smiled.
> 
> "Helped you escape?" Aurora repeated, giving the two teenagers a confused look.
> 
> "After I beat Voldemort and the dust had settled, everyone was sort of picking up the pieces in the Great Hall," Harry explained. "Luna just knew that I wanted to get out of there. Away from the others. So, she yelled out something—"
> 
> "Blibbering Humdinger," Luna stated proudly. "It was rather fascinating to see how quickly everyone flocked to the windows afterwards. Don't they know how rare it is to see one so close to humans?"
> 
> Harry gave a soft laugh, moving instinctively closer to the blonde. "Something tells me you'll be the one to teach that to us all one day."


	20. Young Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than last time, but as you can tell, I'm updating quicker nowadays. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx myself there. :) As always, hope you enjoy.

A few days later, Severus woke up to loud pounding on his door. He quietly groaned but made no movement towards it. Just a few more hours of sleep. That was all he needed. Just a few more hours. However, whoever was at his door clearly didn't seem to understand that, as they pounded even harder a few minutes later.

"Goddamn stupid people," he mumbled under his breath, hearing the faint laughter from his wife beside him. "Don't they know what time it is?" As he got up out of bed, he glanced briefly towards the clock and growled quietly. "Ridiculous. It's eight." Throwing on a shirt and a pair of sweatpants, he headed for the door. Whoever it was was going to get hexed into tomorrow for this. He opened the door soon after and glared at the dark-haired, glasses-wearing, green-eyed teenager in front of him. He should have known. "What, Potter?"

"Luna and I are going to Hogsmeade for the day," Harry said beaming.

"Fascinating," Severus replied dryly.

"And we thought you two might like to join us."

"Join you?" he repeated with a hint of annoyance. Yes, that was exactly what they wanted to do today. Head into the village with two students and have a double date at Madam Puddifoot's. It was utterly laughable. Him and Aurora with Potter and Luna.

"Oh, I like that idea," Aurora said brightly, much to Severus's utter horror.

He whirled around and gave his wife the darkest look he had. There was absolutely no way they were going on a double date with Lovegood and Potter. Over his dead body. He'd rather be in Azkaban than that. Or . . . anything but that.

Blatantly ignoring Severus's look, Aurora admitted, "I've been craving a cheeseburger badly the past few days." She then gave him her best begging look, which made his look darken. "Please?" When she realized that was going to get her nowhere, she resorted to another tactic. "It'll make me happy."

He pointed his finger at her instantly. "Woman, I swear to Merlin above—"

She rested her hands on her swollen belly, her rare Slytherin side showing. "You want me happy and feel loved, don't you, Severus?"

"That's low, and you know it," he stated, hearing Harry's failed attempts to conceal his snorts behind him. She was enjoying this.

"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "But weren't you the one who taught me never to pull my punches?" Her smile deepened as he realized she was right.

Clenching his jaw, he bit back his growl and turned back to Harry. "We'd love to," he spat out.

"We'll be down in the entrance hall then." Harry's smile was wide as a crocodile's. "See you soon, Professors." He then whirled around and left.

Severus shut the door soon after and groaned, his forehead resting against the cool wood.

"Oh, will you get over it already?" Aurora remarked behind him.

"Get over it?" he repeated, whirling back towards her. "We're going on a double date with Potter and Lovegood!" That sounded to him as appealing as one of Lucius's parties he'd hold at the manor.

"He didn't say that. He just said that they were going into Hogsmeade for the day and asked if we'd like to go. And we do."

"No. _You_ do," he pointed out grumpily.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, forgive me for not wanting to be locked up with only these four walls to keep us company any longer, Severus." She then crossed her arms. "I want to go out. Get some fresh air. Don't you? We've been in here ever since that thing with the Aurors."

She had a point unfortunately. They had remained here since then. But it was for her own protection truthfully. Sure she was getting stronger mentally and healing, but all it would take was one idiotic comment to unravel all of her progress. Or at least that was how he was justifying his actions.

"Severus, you can't keep me locked up here to protect me from the world." Damn, was he that obvious? "I do need to get out amongst people every now and then, or else I'll go stir crazy."

He sighed and shook his head.

"And what if something happens, Celes?"

"Then something happens and we deal with it. You said we had to live our lives. So let's live it. I mean, let's be honest. It's not like we really have gone shopping for the baby."

"But Potter will be there, as will be Lovegood. Two of our former students." Awkward anyone?

"Who knew who we were from the start practically and didn't give a damn, Severus. I have no problem spending the day with them, possibly shopping for the baby. I mean, it's not like I can go with . . ." Her voice trailed off before she glanced away.

He sighed in response, knowing exactly what she was talking about. The only people who had come to check on them in the past few days were Potter, Minerva, and Orin. While normally that wouldn't have mattered whatsoever, it mattered when Aurora's best friend Septima Vector refused to come see her or even speak with her anymore after learning the truth of where they had been for the past few months.

"She'll come around, Aurora."

"No she won't." His wife glanced up at him. "I lied to her. I made her think I was at the cottage all this time, not right here with her when she was needing me. She thought I . . . she won't forgive me." She forced her head up higher. "And that's fine. I was a pretty lousy friend, letting her worry all this time about me and not helping her. But I can't do anything about it now."

"Once the hurt passes, she'll forgive you," he reiterated.

Aurora, however, wasn't listening to him anymore. Instead, she was putting her socks and shoes on and getting ready to go. They'd have to continue this later clearly.

* * *

A half-hour had passed since they arrived in Hogsmeade with Harry and Luna, and Severus was ready to head back to the castle already.

"You know, I never thanked you for helping me escape, Luna," Harry quietly said as they walked past Madam Puddifoot's burned out building, the first of many Severus noted glumly.

The dishwater blonde, however, only smiled back at Harry.

"Helped you escape?" Aurora repeated, giving the two teenagers a confused look.

"After I beat Voldemort and the dust had settled, everyone was sort of picking up the pieces in the Great Hall," Harry explained. "Luna just knew that I wanted to get out of there. Away from the others. So, she yelled out something—"

"Blibbering Humdinger," Luna stated proudly. "It was rather fascinating to see how quickly they flocked to the windows afterwards. Don't they know how rare it is to see one so close to humans?"

Harry gave a soft laugh, moving instinctively closer to her. "Something tells me you'll be the one to teach it to us all."

Severus grimaced inwardly. Young love. One of the many things he disliked with a passion.

"Yeah, so," Harry said, continuing his talk with Aurora, "Luna provided a pretty good distraction. The cloak helped, too, but it was mostly Luna. I found Ron and Hermione shortly after, and we walked away with me explaining everything along the way."

They walked in silence then past a few more burned out buildings. It wasn't until they reached formerly Zonko's that anyone spoke.

"Is that . . .?" Aurora softly asked, her voice trailing off.

Harry laughed instantly. "Yeah. The twins bought it. Thought it'd be good for morale now."

"I wonder if they've perfected their new product yet," Luna said suddenly.

"Let's find out." Harry then opened the door to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, motioning for Luna and Aurora to walk in first. He shrugged when Severus gave him a dark look.

The moment Harry walked in, loud whispers filtered throughout the shop from the customers followed by intense stares. Harry, however, ignored the looks.

"Well, well, do our eyes deceive us, George? Could it be the Chosen one?"

"Sure looks like him, doesn't it, Fred?" George then grinned widely before he noticed his customers' staring. He merely shook his head and pointed to a door next to Harry. Clearly having been in the joke shop many times before, Harry entered, letting everyone else in before shutting the door to the store room. The twins joined them soon after, entering from another door. "Sorry 'bout that, mate."

Fred's eyes then passed over Severus and Aurora briefly before he glanced back at Harry.

"And here we thought we only had one celebrity visiting us today," Fred remarked.

"Huh?" George gave them a look over as well before he tensed slightly once he recognized who the young couple was actually. "Ah." He forced his smile a bit. "Professor Snape." His eyes then softened as he turned to Aurora. "Professor Sinistra . . . or is it Snape as well?" His usual playfulness had returned. Though, the twins had always been playful with her, much to Severus's annoyance over the years. It was her own fault, he decided long ago. She was too close and friendly with her students.

"Sinistra," Aurora corrected with a pleasant smile. "I didn't take his name."

"Trouble in paradise already, Professor?" Fred joked. "We've got just the cure for that."

Aurora laughed softly, moving closer to her husband. "I'm sure you do, boys. But I assure you that there is no trouble. Not where our marriage is concerned at least."

The twins nodded.

"Well, then may I tell you that you look positively radiant today, ma'am?" George grinned.

"Hey, that was my line," Fred cried, feigning outrage.

Aurora rolled her eyes, glancing up at her husband and flashing a brilliant smile at him. Severus clearly felt uneasy being there with them, which was understandable considering.

"So, how about I show you our new product, ladies?" Fred asked suddenly, as George and Severus were standing awkwardly eyeing one another.

"I'd love that." Aurora quickly gave Severus a kiss to his cheek before she headed off with Fred, Harry, and Luna towards the other side of the stock room.

Severus's eyes followed his wife before he sighed inwardly. He glanced towards George, catching the younger wizard's missing ear. He felt a slight ache in his chest before he looked away.

"I . . ." he started to say before he sighed audibly. His dark eyes moved back to George. "I realize apologies are meaningless at this point, considering the damage I inflicted upon you, but I do sincerely apologize, Mr. Weasley." He caught George's confused look and continued. "You weren't my intended target that night, I assure you."

"Um . . ."

Severus held up a hand, though, to cut him off. "Allow me to finish, please." He waited for George to nod. "Behind Lupin was another Death Eater who was about to curse him. My curse was meant for the Death Eater, Mr. Weasley, not you. I," his voice trailed off before he looked out a window. He closed his eyes and exhaled.

"You missed," George offered quietly with a slight shrug. "But, honestly, sir, it's fine."

"No, it most certainly is not," Severus replied, his head snapping back to the redhead. "If I had just moved a bit to the right, then you'd have—"

"Have my ear, sure, but little Teddy might not have had a father, then," George pointed out. "A missing ear, eh." He shrugged languidly. "I could've lost so much more than that, sir. And, hey, it makes me saint-like now, you know."

Severus stared at him incredulously for a minute before groaning.

"You still have your humor, I see," Severus remarked quietly.

"Well, without humor, you've only got pain, and I think we've all had enough of that, don't you?" George followed Severus's look to Aurora and smiled softly. "She wrote me after I lost my ear. Did you know?"

Severus nodded slowly. "I did." He knew even before George had said it what the young man was about to say next. "The answer is yes, Mr. Weasley. It was one of my potions."

"I figured as much." George laughed quietly. "I can hear every now and then. Not much, but I do get some sounds once and awhile."

"You've continued the regimen?" he asked, turning back to the young man.

"I had been, but I ran out of the potion awhile back."

"And you didn't think to send her another owl?"

"I thought about it, sure, but, well, the war started getting worse and I just . . . we had bigger things to worry about than my ear."

Severus nodded again. He could understand that. "It may be possible, Mr. Weasley, for you regain even more of your hearing. Not fully, of course."

"But it was cursed off."

"I'm aware of that, but seeing as how it was a curse I developed, I have more insight into it than others." George snorted. "If you'd be willing, I could speak with a healer and give them the necessary information needed to see if they could restore your hearing fully."

"You really feel guilty about this, don't you, sir?"

Every bit of Severus's being wanted to fight his protective instincts. He hardly admitted his feelings to anyone other than Aurora, as that was considered a sign of weakness in his mind. But it was the right thing to do this time. "I do."

"All right, well, I'll send you the info later then."

Quietly, the two headed back over to the others. Aurora was holding in her hand a small puppet that had an eerily similar likeness to Severus, complete with long flowing robes and all.

"Silence!" his voice hissed from the puppet.

Severus stared at it for a few moments before he glanced at the Weasley twins.

"Just wait," Fred stated with a wide grin.

"POTTER!" the puppet snarled. "500 points from Gryffindor for your insolence!"

Aurora burst out laughing, as did everyone but Severus.

"It sounds just like you," his wife remarked with a wide smile.

"How wonderful," Severus replied sourly. He then caught a Potter-like puppet in Luna's hands, which the young witch brought near his own puppet.

"Yes, _sir_ ," the Severus puppet said.

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor," responded the Potter puppet.

Severus's head snapped towards Harry before he glared at the cheeky brat.

"We had to include that. It was just too brilliant not to," Fred explained grinning largely.

"But don't worry, sir. You and Harry will receive royalties for everything we make with these," George stated.

"Fascinating." Severus sighed and shook his head.

"So, what brings you to our fine establishment today anyway?"

"Luna and I felt like a walk, and I thought maybe they'd like to come with us," Harry explained.

"Oh, so it's a double date, then," announced Fred with a wide grin.

"Absolutely not," Severus said instantly while Harry gave an awkward laugh.

"Is that what we're doing?" Luna asked, glancing towards Harry.

"Uh . . ." Harry replied, tugging on his collar.

Fred and George both wore looks of amusement, as Aurora gave Severus a look.

"Well, um, Luna, how about we go over there and talk?" The young pair walked to the far side away from the others.

"They're sort of cute together, aren't they?" the twins remarked.

"They are," Aurora agreed. "Only Harry's likely worried about how everyone is going to take it considering his prior relationship with your sister."

"Yeah." George sighed softly.

"Don't get us wrong. We loved Ginny. We still do. It's just . . ." Fred glanced at his brother.

"Well, um, it's just that she . . ."

"She didn't know what she wanted half the time." Fred then shrugged. "I guess that's the best way of putting it."

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked quietly.

"Well, our sister, um, she sort of . . . put herself out there."

"A lot," Fred added with a wince.

Severus groaned inwardly. This was another reason he hated children. He didn't want to hear any of the irrelevant drama-laden ridiculousness that came with them. He would make sure his child wasn't like any of the other brats. Not like his child would be anyway.

"Are you saying . . .?" his wife started to ask.

"Aurora, enough," Severus quietly said, giving his wife a look. There was no need for them to get involved in such a private family matter and stick their noses in it.

"She dated Michael Corner first," Fred stated.

"Or was that Dean?" George interrupted.

"No, it was definitely Michael," Fred repeated. "Either way, she dated Corner. Then went onto Dean Thomas. They got into such rows, you know? Well, a little while later, she and Harry started dating, which came as a shock to all of us."

"Until we realized why that was," George mentioned quietly.

"Are you suggesting that she—?" Aurora asked, giving the twins a shocked look.

"That our little sister dated Harry only because he was the Chosen One, yeah, we are," Fred answered with a slight nod. "And we know how that sounds, but . . . well, look at them." He pointed over to Harry and Luna, who were quietly talking with their backs turned.

"We actually thought Luna and Harry would start dating before Ginny would get her claws in him." George then sighed when he caught Aurora's look. "We love Ginny. We do. It's just . . ."

"Our little sister had a reputation for using people and tossing them aside when she was bored with them."

"We thought about giving him her diary once, so he could see it for himself and free himself before it was too late. But then he broke up with her to go hunting after the Horcruxes, and we figured it was over so there was no point."

"But now with how he's been, it's only fair, isn't it?" Fred remarked, looking back at Luna and Harry. "It'll hurt, but at least he'll know the truth and move on."

Severus sighed inwardly before he glanced to the twins. Sometimes the truth was necessary in order to move on. It had been for him at least. But sometimes the truth led to unnecessary pain. It was the old catch-22.

"He is moving on in his own way currently," Severus quietly said, hoping it would give them the hint without further explanation.

"We see that."

"Maybe we should—I mean, I can't imagine what it'd feel like to—" George turned to his brother. "Would you have wanted me to date Angelina if something had happened to you?"

Fred chuckled instantly. "You and Angelina? Come on, Georgie. Let's be honest here. She likes me more than you. Because I've got two ears and am handsomer." Fred flashed a cocky grin before he shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose that'd be all right with me. Course thankfully I . . ." A flash of pain flickered across Fred's face briefly before he glanced towards the floor. "Only had that one brief scare." He then shook his head. "I think I'm going to go check the store." He walked off a moment later, clearly with a heavy heart.

"How is your family doing, George?" Aurora asked.

He shrugged, watching his brother disappear behind a door. "We've got a good days and our bad, Professor. Mum and Ron are taking it the hardest, of course. Charlie's come home, did you know?"

"No. How is he?"

"Good. Still doesn't have a girl, which is annoying Mum to pieces. She's been telling Fred and me that we need to get on with grandkids, but Dad says that's just her trying to get some normalcy back." George sighed quietly. "Fred . . . well, you saw him just now. He's talking to a mind healer, who says he's got survivors' guilt or something. He's been doing loads better now that we've got this place, though. He says it's been good for him. To see the castle and everyone. Course, you know, night is the hardest." He glanced at her. "He won't tell me anything, but sometimes I think he relieves that moment in his nightmares. We've talked some about it, but, you know."

"Having him speak about his trauma is good," Severus mentioned quietly, briefly wondering why he had spoken in the first place.

"Yeah, that's what the mind healer said," George replied with a faint smile. "It's been, I don't know, soothing to see all the smiles and laughs we've been bringing to people here. It's mostly the adults and older students we see, but . . . it's good so far."

"What if we removed some of the—" Aurora started to say.

Severus closed his eyes. There was his wife's bleeding heart. He gave her a quick look.

"I will need to speak with the Heads of Houses before any decision can be made," Severus was quick to point out. He caught his wife's begging look instantly and frowned. "I'll take it into consideration, however."

"So, it's true, then?" George asked. "What they're saying in the _Prophet?"_

"That would depend entirely on what the _Prophet_ is saying," Severus replied dryly.

"They said that your resignation was refused, making you the current headmaster."

Severus shrugged. "So it would seem."

"Wow."

"Indeed." Severus shook his head.

"Guess it doesn't make things confusing anymore with Professor Dumbledore's whole trial starting yesterday, does it?"

He glanced back at George and frowned. Albus was on trial yesterday? That was the first he had heard about that. Though, it wasn't as if he had really been following the outside world these days anyway. Not when he had bigger cauldrons to consider.

"Dad said they were going to call Dumbledore's brother to the stand today. Of course we all know there is no love lost between those two. Professor Dumbledore will be lucky if he doesn't end up being handed to the Dementors once they finish with Aberforth." George shrugged. "Not that I understand what's going on. Everyone's being real hush-hush about it. This is, after all, Dumbledore we're talking about."

"Well, personally, I'd like to see him try to explain his so-called necessary sacrifices for the Greater Good with all his victims' families around," Aurora stated brusquely.

George started suddenly before he gave a quick look to Severus. He seemed genuinely surprised by her words. Severus only looked back, as if pretending he was only half-listening.

"Yeah." George then forced a faint smile. "So, Mum found out about Hermione and Malfoy," he stated, clearly changing the subject.

"Ah." Severus couldn't care less about that. Honestly! What was it about young people that they thought every adult had to listen to their mindless chatter all the time? Who cared who was screwing whom? Five minutes later it'd just be another person added to the mix. Didn't they realize that?

"Hermione finally told Ron that they're over. That she's happy with Malfoy and that they're just friends." George then forced his laugh. "Even though we all know that her being friends with Malfoy is like Harry being _just_ friends with Luna. Fat chance of that being true." George shrugged then. "Either way, according to Charlie, Ron took it rather well this time. Course, Bill said it's because our brother finally grew up, but I don't know. It's hard to imagine him wising up once and for all and being a mature adult."

"Time is a funny thing," Aurora remarked quietly.

George nodded, agreeing with her. His eyes then darted towards the door Fred had left through. "I should go see what Freddie is up to." He turned back to them. "It was nice seeing you both, Professors. Feel free to take whatever you want for the baby." His eyes then met Severus's. "It's the least we can do after all you've done for us, sir." He then held a hand out and gave Severus a faint smile when they shook hands. He turned and left soon after.

"You all right?" Aurora asked, glancing up at Severus a few moments later.

"Fine," he replied curtly. When he felt her fingers entwine with his, he relaxed just a bit. Why was everyone making such a big deal out of his actions? His eyes moved to Harry and Luna, catching the two hugging. He sighed inwardly and looked away.

Everything was changing now. Perhaps it would be for the better, but it made him uneasy inside. He had let his guard down before and nearly paid the price for it. Even if they were in peace times, he couldn't afford the luxuries of others, like Harry and Luna, could. Not now. Not when everyone else's guards were down and they were all vulnerable, still licking their wounds from the last battle. He then shook his head. No. It wasn't like that anymore. The Dark Lord had been defeated finally. It was over. And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something out there was lurking just under the surface. Good times usually led to terrible pain he had learned. He glanced back at his wife and sighed. So what horrors would face them this time? Or was the paranoia all just in his head? He'd definitely have to speak with Pomfrey about it later, he decided. For now, he'd enjoy the sunshine. Or rather the sunshine of others. Young love and all that.


	21. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy.

_He sprinted through the dense forest for his life, for_ **hers** _. Every now and then, he hissed loudly as yet another branch sliced into his face, leaving behind deep, bloody scratches. Once more, terrible screams called out and forced him to run even faster towards the cries. He had to reach her. There was no other option. He would not lose her again. Not another woman he loved would he lose._

" _SEVERUS!" she screamed somewhere deep in the darkness, just out of his reach._

_His eyes darted wildly about, searching for any sign of movement, any light. Where was she? He stopped for just a second to hear better, but he could hardly hear anything over his own pounding heart._

" _PLEASE!" she begged with a fearful scream. "CIRCE, I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE!"_

" _Aurora!" he yelled out, forcing the uncooperative air into his lungs. Where the hell was she? Why couldn't he see her? "Where are you?" he yelled, hoping and praying she'd hear him._

_He looked left, his eyes scanning frantically for anything that would lead him to her. He only saw a thick, suffocating fog roll in, blanketing the area even more. The same occurred when he looked to his right. Nothing but fog._

" _SEVERUS!" his wife cried from somewhere in the darkness._

**No . . .** _Why were the Fates so cruel to him? Was it honestly because he had chosen a darker path in his youth?_

_It was then he saw the brief flash of red up ahead. He took off instantly in a dead run. He would not lose her. Not Aurora._

_As he neared where he had seen the streak of red, he found himself struggling against the thick fog that closed in around him. Still, he continued onward, though. He had to._

" **Avada Keda** —" _shouted the man who stood over his bloodied wife._

_Without a word, pure rage in his heart, Severus's wand slashed through the air as if he was wielding a sword towards the man. The man, however, vanished into smoke when Severus's nonverbal struck him. Another appeared soon after, this time taking the appearance of the Dark Lord._

" _Seems only fitting that you should lose her as you lost the other, doesn't it, Severus?" hissed the Dark Lord, who laughed evilly as he held his wand out at Aurora._

" _You're not real! You're only a figment of my—" Severus started to state before he was interrupted by the sounds of his wife's pain-filled screams again. He slashed his wand violently at the Dark Lord, but to no avail. This time, the Dark Lord remained, as did the terrible screams of agony._

" _Yes," smirked the Dark Lord, his red eyes glistening brightly, "yes, this_ **is** _a much better punishment for you, my faithless follower. So much more amusing than just letting Nagini finish you off, as I had allowed her do before." He then chuckled even louder as Aurora's screams became even more desperate sounding. "Look at her writhe in pain. You did that, Severus. Not I. You."_

_Severus closed his eyes instantly, turning away from the whole scene before him. It wasn't real. It couldn't be. They had won. It was over. Voldemort had been finally defeated once and for all. Harry had succeeded. This wasn't possible. It couldn't be._

" _Tell me, my traitorous snake." Aurora's screams were now silent, Severus noticed, and her body was limp and lifeless. "How will you ever live with yourself, knowing you were the real reason my followers went after your family? Hmm?"_

" _Lies." It wasn't true. He wasn't . . . he had seen her memories. She was a victim of the old wrong-place, wrong-time adage. As so many unfortunate souls had been during the Final Battle._

" _Is it?" Voldemort replied before he vanished as well._

_As soon as the Dark Lord was gone, Severus knelt down, his fingers going to Aurora's neck to feel for a pulse. He felt . . . nothing._ **No . . .** _His hands went to his face, his shoulders shaking as he wept. He had failed. Again._ **No. No . . .** _This was all a terrible nightmare. It had to be. None of this was possible. They had won, damn it! The Dark Lord was no more. He was free! He was free . . ._

" _Why didn't you save us?" Aurora whispered accusingly, suddenly turning towards him._

_His head snapped up, and his eyes went to her instantly. Her eyes, once so full of life and light, were now lifeless and dull. The love she always radiated around him with was replaced with darkness. If it weren't for his hearing her voice, she'd have been utterly unrecognizable to him._

" _Why didn't you save us, Severus?" she repeated before everything vanished._

He woke up soon after, gasping and clutching his chest tightly. Their rooms quickly came into view as the fog of sleep faded. He had been right after all. It had all just been a horrible nightmare.

"Severus?" Aurora softly said in bed beside him. It was the real her, he was thankful to notice.

"I'm . . . I'm fine," he rasped, focusing on controlling his emotions once more. A sharp pain in his neck quickly reminded him of his scars. "Just . . . just a bad dream. That's all." More of his senses then returned. As the sweet, intoxicating smell of her raspberry shampoo became even stronger, he realized she was moving closer to him. A moment later, her hand gently rested on his arm.

"Do you maybe want to talk about it?"

He gave a soft little huff of disbelief before he shook his head. Did he want to tell her how he had just dreamt of her dying? "Not particularly no," he responded, closing his eyes briefly as his hand ran down the length of his face. At feeling himself sink lower into their bed followed by the silent running her teeth over her bottom lip, he knew precisely how she had taken his words. Glancing at her and seeing he had been right, he quietly said, "Don't think that, please." He caught her surprise before she sighed and ran a hand through her long curls.

"You have to talk to someone, Severus. We've been over this with Poppy. If you're having—"

He gently grabbed her hands, stopping her at once. He pressed soft kisses against her palms before he held her look. "It's not something I can speak with you about, I'm afraid, Celes. I . . . I wouldn't know where to begin frankly." He then pulled her even closer, his arms wrapping around her as he held her for a few moments. Just having her in his arms was keeping his demons at bay again. "But you're right. I do need to speak with someone." He closed his eyes, exhaling loudly. While the option wasn't at all appealing to him, it needed to be done. "I think it's time I spoke with Poppy again." He caught her soft smile of victory and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Want some company?"

He shook his head. "I would love nothing more than to say yes, Aurora, but I can't."

She stared at him for a moment before asking, "Is it that bad?"

The 'yes' that was being screamed in his head gave him pause for several seconds. He needed to deal with nearly losing her. And, frankly, he had put that off for way too long by dodging Pomfrey's questions with vague answers. "You know I love you more than anything."

"Not your potions," she quipped, continuing their long-standing joke. "You'll always love them more than me." She gave him a faint smile.

"No, Aurora," he replied, maintaining his seriousness. "I mean it. I love you more than anything in the world. But this is something that I need—that I've needed to deal with a long time ago." He watched her face fall instantly and sighed. This conversation wasn't going well at all.

"Oh."

Unable to hold back his usual snark, he remarked, "Will you for the love of Merlin, woman, stop thinking the worst? This has very little to do with Evans. In fact, it actually has everything to do with you." When he caught her surprise before it morphed into confusion, he sighed. He truly failed at speaking to women properly. He blamed his father for that.

"What do you mean, 'It has everything to do with me?' What did I do?"

"Nothing."

"Then, why did you—"

He pulled back from her and sighed. "I never dealt with us, Aurora. With how close I nearly lost you. Our talks only focused on my near death experience. I never brought up how . . . that is what I'm going to be speaking with her about. Now, do me a favor and rest. For my sake and that of our child's."

"But why can't we discuss this together?"

"Because I can't, Aurora," he snapped before drawing in a quick breath to calm himself again. She wasn't to blame for any of this, he reminded himself. So there was no reason for him to snap at her like that. She was merely trying to figure things out. Letting the anger slip away once more, he spoke again, much calmer this time. "I can't. At least not yet."

"Okay, well, I can wait, Severus," she started to say.

"Good. Then, do as I say, please, and rest."

"Severus—"

He held a finger to her lips instantly to shush her. "Do not make me resort to other means, Celes," he softly warned, holding her eyes. "Grant me this one favor and just rest. Please?" He could tell by the way the corners of her mouth moved that she was two seconds from arguing, which made him sigh heavily. Why on earth had he married such a stubborn woman? "I will only hurt you if we continue this. Please. I beg of you, Aurora. Stop and just do as I ask."

It was rare to hear him beg anyone, let alone his wife. But it was the only way he could think of that would convey the seriousness of his trouble. When he saw her shoulders slump, he knew he had won. He slowly leaned in to her and gave her a tender kiss before he pulled back and quickly got to his feet. "I will return."

"You better," she replied just as equally soft as he had.

He held her look for one more moment before he whirled around and left for the hospital wing.

* * *

After waiting impatiently for fifteen minutes for her husband to return, Aurora found herself at her wit's end. She couldn't do this, just sitting around and waiting. She had to do something and get her mind off of the dark thoughts racing in her head currently. So, after tossing on a pair of sweatpants and one of Severus's shrunk-down t-shirts, she left as well.

The corridors were deserted, but that was to be expected considering how late it was. Everyone would be in bed, or at the very least their common rooms by now. She knew the only ones she had a rather high chance of running into would be whichever staff member was patrolling the hallways that night. A part of her hoped it'd be Septima she'd run across. Just so she could talk with her best friend and apologize for everything. Yet, Aurora knew her luck and how it was rarely on her side. Severus had been her long-standing fluke.

As she rounded what felt like the hundredth corner, she paused for a moment at the sounds of someone in a nearby corridor crying. She considered walking in a different direction, but if that person was hurt . . .

"Stupid. So stupid," a soft voice angrily whispered up ahead followed by a somber sniffle.

Aurora's eyes narrowed before she hesitantly rounded the corner. "I don't mean to intrude, Hermione," she announced softly as she approached, "but are you all right?" She caught the young woman's shoulders hunch up defensively and waited for her answer.

"I . . . I'm fine," replied the young woman shakily, swiping angrily at the traitorous tears that had leaked out. "Just had some . . . something fly into my eye."

"Ah." She then noticed the parchment in Hermione's slightly shaking hands. "From Mr. Weasley, I take it?" she asked, motioning towards the letter.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before she nodded slowly. Her brown eyes fell back to the letter in her hands, her shoulders slumping again. While she clearly was miserable, she seemed to want to be left alone as well, which Aurora would grant.

"Well, I'll leave you in peace then, Miss Granger." She turned to leave, heading past the young woman silently. She was almost near another corner when she heard the question.

"How did you do it all those years?"

Aurora stopped in mid-step and slowly turned back. "Excuse me?"

Hermione drew in a shaky breath before she held her head up a bit higher, meeting Aurora's eyes. "Everyone was so certain he had killed the Headmaster, that he hadn't changed his ways, that he truly was evil. Yet, you didn't believe any of that. You didn't . . ." She shrugged. "You didn't give up. I . . . how did you find the strength to ignore all of us doubters?"

She blinked. "Because I love him, Hermione." Her eyes then narrowed as her words echoed in her head. It wasn't a logical reason she was giving, she knew, but it was all she could think of at that moment. When she noticed Hermione's disbelief, she gave the young woman a warm smile before she slowly walked back to her. "There were times, sure, when I thought that I was wrong, that everyone else was right about Severus. He did do his best to convince us of his betrayal after all. But things just didn't make sense to me. Pieces didn't fit." She then gave a soft laugh. "Don't get me wrong. I was so upset with him after the whole Dumbledore thing on my tower. But did I truly believe in my heart that he had betrayed us? That he had returned to being a true Death Eater? I . . . no. No I couldn't believe it. So I placed my trust in my love for him and hoped to Circe above that I was right in the end."

"And you were."

Aurora nodded. "I was."

Hermione sighed quietly, glancing back at the letter. "I still do love him, Professor."

She gave the young woman an understanding smile. "Well, of course you do, Hermione. You never stop loving someone who has been in your life, your heart, for so long. It's not like the heart has a protocol to Obliviate one's self after loss after all." She caught Hermione's soft, tearful laugh. "It will get better, love. The pain will lessen in time."

"I know." Hermione wiped at her wet eyes again. "I had almost gotten over D. . ." Her voice trailed off before she glanced back down guiltily.

The young woman didn't need to explain any further. Aurora knew exactly what she had almost accidentally admitted, Hermione had nearly gotten over Draco as well. Sighing quietly, Aurora glanced out a nearby window. She could see the raindrops running down the stained glass windows, pooling in the windowsill.

"Ron was always my second choice," Hermione whispered, her lip trembling slightly. "I never told him that, but he knew it. I tried desperately to make him my first, but . . . there would be these moments when he could be just downright . . . rude and obnoxious."

"The Yule ball," Aurora stated quietly, recalling that night.

"Yes, but not just then. I-it was like there was this little voice in me that would whisper every now and then how he was using me. I didn't want to believe it. To believe Draco." Hermione sniffled, shaking her head. "But it was right there the whole time, the truth. I just had to open my eyes and see it."

Aurora glanced towards her briefly before frowning and turning back toward the window.

"I know how it sounds. A bitter young woman angry at the world." Hermione then huffed furiously and held the letter up higher. "He admitted it, Professor. He admitted to . . . to . . ." Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes. "After he abandoned us, he ran into that . . . that _cow_."

"Ah." Aurora winced inwardly.

"He claims it was a mistake. That his outburst towards me earlier in the term was a result of his horrible guilt," Hermione ranted. "What complete Thestral crap. His _guilt_?" She laughed shortly in disbelief. "Perhaps if he had two brain cells, he'd have done the responsible thing and not shagged her!"

"Hermione," Aurora quietly cut in.

"Oh, whom am I kidding? This is Ronald after all!"

"Hermione, please," Aurora tried again.

"He'll shag anything he can get his hands onto!" She scoffed loudly. "At least Draco is a gentleman, an arrogant one but still a gentleman." She then ripped the letter up into tiny pieces, her eyes hardening. "I honestly can't even remember what I saw in Ron in the first place. That . . . UGH! I hate him! I absolutely hate him!" Flying up to her feet suddenly, she tossed the tiny pieces up into the air, letting them rain down all around them into piles. Hermione's wand then slid into her hand, and without a word, she flicked her wand at the piles, causing the small pieces to burst into flames.

Aurora's mouth dropped as she watched the witch unravel in front of her.

"Goodbye, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione snarled before she suddenly inhaled and all the anger from before had vanished once again. She glanced towards Aurora and smiled faintly. "Thank you, Professor. That was . . . rejuvenating to say the least."

Aurora stared at her in complete disbelief.

"Have a good night, ma'am." The young woman then whirled around and headed back towards the Gryffindor tower before Aurora watched her disappear behind the corner.

After standing there for another moment or two in utter shock, she finally snapped out of it when she noticed one of the ghosts floating in front of her slowly approaching. She whirled around and practically ran back to her rooms, slamming the door shut behind her soon after.

A few hours later, Severus entered their rooms to find her sitting on the sofa with her legs tucked underneath herself and one of his books in her hand. He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing as he took a seat across from her.

"Have a good talk with Poppy, did you?"

Her husband shrugged somewhat. "Once we moved past her lecturing me as if I was a five-year-old, then yes, it was . . . acceptable."

She snorted, her eyes remaining on the same line she had been reading for the past half an hour.

"So," his eyes darted about the room, "what exactly have you been doing since I left?"

The book nearly fell out of her hands. "Don't ask," she replied, swallowing back her nerves.

"Oh?"

She closed her eyes and silently cursed herself. She was always an open book to him. "I will never look at Ron Weasley the same again." Terrible silence fell around them suddenly. After several minutes had passed, she sneaked a peek at her husband and saw his mouth slightly hung open.

"What?"

Tossing the book aside and throwing all pretenses away, she sighed and met his eyes before answering. "If I ever start to speak to a student again . . . try to help in other words . . . just hex me. Or better yet, just lock me up in the dungeons."

Severus stared at her silently, barely blinking his eyes in fact. His hand then came up to the back of his neck as he rubbed it. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally just inclined his head, clearly confused.

"Thank you." She then patted the cushion beside her. "Sit next to me, please?"

He quickly went to his feet and sat beside her. When she instinctively curled around him, he rested his head against hers.

"So, is there any special thing she suggests we do in order to help you sleep better?"

He shrugged slightly. "Yes, but it's a moot point considering you're pregnant."

"What is it? What does she suggest?"

"That we duel." He then scoffed. "Which is ridiculous. How on earth is that supposed to make me sleep better? Of course her other suggestion wasn't any better. To cook together. It doesn't matter what, but that we should cook something together every once and awhile."

"Oh." Aurora then laughed softly. "I see."

"Yes. It's utterly preposterous." When she started to lift her head up, he pulled back and sighed at the loss. However, when a pillow suddenly hit him square in the face a moment later, he instantly regretted it. "What in the Nine Hell's was that for, witch?" he groused, glaring at his mischievous wife. She only hit him with the fluffy pillow again, laughing now. He quickly grabbed her wrists to stop the next impending attack and glared even more at her. "Aurora."

"Severus," she purred, grinning widely.

"Explain yourself." His eyes narrowed on her when she giggled.

"Isn't it obvious, love? She's wanting you to unwind. To relax. To loosen up a little. To _play_." She gave him a lopsided smile. "Heavens, we both could use a little frivolity in our life after all."

He raised a brow at her before he sighed and released her. "And you hoped to achieve that by smacking me with a pillow?"

"Well, it was either that or tickle you, and we both know how much you _love_ being tickled."

"Point taken." He then shook his head before he got to his feet. "If that is what she's wishing, then I can think of a more enjoying activity than that."

"Oh? What activity?" When he suddenly picked her up off the couch and carried her in his arms toward their bedroom, she made a sort of muffled noise into his shoulder. He gently laid her upon their bed a moment later before he moved towards the door. Her hand against his wrist stopped him, though.

"Severus, stop, please. I . . ." The nervousness and loss of confidence had returned to her voice.

"I did not bring you here for that, Celes." He then seemed to decide upon something and crawled up onto their bed, lying next to her a moment later. He gently rolled the bottom of her t-shirt up to under her breasts before his long fingers tenderly drew the outlines of various runes on her swollen belly. He chuckled when he felt his unborn child's responding kick soon after. "Being here with you and our child is all I need to relax." He then brushed back one of her dark stray curls, locking eyes with her. His mask fell aside. "She believes I feel guilt for not being with you and our daughter when you needed me. And she's right, Aurora," he whispered, his voice steady and calm. "I do. I promised myself when we married that I would never allow any harm to come to you. And it did." He shook his head at her when she moved to argue. "I should've been there with you."

"You had to tell Harry—"

"No. I didn't have to tell him anything. Albus could have told Harry months earlier that in the end, Harry would have to sacrifice himself to the Dark Lord for us. But he didn't. Instead, he let that particular burden fall to me. I—"

"Stop. Please, my prince. I don't blame you. Not for any of this."

"Just let me finish."

"No. No I won't have it." She sat up, grabbing his face. "I won't have you blaming yourself for things that were out of your control."

"I should have been there with you, Aurora. I should've been there to protect you both."

"You were there, though, Headmaster," a voice suddenly cut in from the doorway.

Severus whirled around and frowned when he caught the four Hogwarts' ghosts and Peeves floating at the door. He should've known those wretched, nosy apparitions would butt in.

"I most certainly was not there with them," he growled, glaring at them. When Peeves suddenly waved his hand at them, Severus quickly shielded his wife from the approaching ethereal ball of light. But it was too late. The white light enveloped them in its warmth. Everything vanished until all that remained was a shimmering holographic-like scene of the headmaster's office.

_Even though Aurora was in his arms, he saw another version of his wife crawling towards the door, a bloody trail following her. His breathing hitched at the sight. He then caught movement as the figment of Michael Travers faded in and approached her from behind, yanking her to her feet. Travers's wand was pointed ominously at her._

" _Say hello to Snape in hell for us, will you?" Travers sneered._

" _NO! SAVE HER!" his own voice screamed from somewhere out of sight._

_Severus then saw the bright blinding light appear from memory Aurora. He felt the wave of raw energy slam against them and watched as Travers and Dolohov crackled like broken plaster and shattered a moment later. He then watched as his own self faded in for a moment before vanishing._

Barely breathing, Severus and Aurora stared at the Hogwarts' ghosts in utter shock. "Help will always be given at Hogwarts," stated Helena Ravenclaw with a pleasant smile on her face, "to those who ask for it."

"And let it be known, Headmaster, that we will always take an especially careful watch over a Hogwarts' headmaster and his family in whatever danger they may be in," the Friar proclaimed.

"For that is our purpose now, you see?" Sir Nicholas said with a smile.

"To serve and assist you in any which way we can," finished the Baron. "Whether that be to help you rebuild the school or to defend your wife from mortal peril."

"We live to serve you, Headmaster sir. All of us," Peeves spoke in the most polite manner Severus had ever heard him use before.

"Now, rest, my dears," Helena softly said. "For the time will soon come when you will need it." Every single apparition then floated away, leaving them in peace.


	22. Kiss and Make Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a long chapter, I know, but it's filled with lots of hilarity (I hope). Enjoy. :D

A few days before Christmas, Severus found himself next to his wife's bedside in the hospital wing, holding her hand. His eyes remained locked on the projected image above his wife's abdomen. He couldn't believe that small being was his child, their child. It didn't seem real. It was like a dream.

"Would you like to know the sex now?" Poppy asked, giving the expecting parents a faint smile when they glanced at her slightly dazed. This had been the second time he knew of that she had asked.

Severus's eyes darted to his wife, finding her staring back at him with a look of amusement.

"It's your call," Aurora murmured to him.

So far, everything had been _his_ call. However, turning his attention back to the image of their unborn child, he found himself swell with gratefulness at being able to be here with her this time. To share this experience with her. To not have to worry about everyone else and their damn dog being murdered by the Dark Lord. To just be a husband with his wife learning the sex of their child.

"Yes," he answered, his voice rough with a hint of shakiness to it. He didn't understand why it was starting to feel so . . . different now. What did it matter if their child was a girl or a boy? What mattered was that it was _their_ child. And yet, something was starting to change just a bit.

Poppy quickly set to work, her wand moving slowly over Aurora's belly resulting in the projected image shifting. Once she had found a good place, she paused, her eyes taking in everything as she made her determination.

"It's a boy, Headmaster," Poppy declared a moment later with a quiet laugh. "You can just make out his—" she started to say, motioning towards a spot on the image.

Severus sharply nodded and gave her a mild glare. "Yes, so I can see, Madam." His son was already quite the exhibitionist, it seemed. Clearly, something he inherited from his mother.

"We're having a boy." Aurora squeezed his hand gently, her eyes locked on the image of their son. So much love filled her voice. So much warmth, it was utterly suffocating. "He's so beautiful."

Severus snorted instantly, his mind unable to stop his mouth in time. "Yes, if you like deformed creatures with large alien heads."

"Severus!" his wife sharply retorted, causing him to jerk in surprise.

"I, I mean, yes, of course. Beautiful." He forced his smile at his wife, noting her dark glare. He then turned back to the projected image. Perhaps at this stage a child was only beautiful to its mother, he decided. It was later after birth in his wife's arms that he would find his child beautiful, he knew.

"I'll go make you two a copy," Poppy softly announced, her wand already moving back from Aurora before she turned and left them alone in the private room.

"I can't believe you said that," Aurora huffed, turning her back to him as she redressed.

He winced, knowing that he had not won any favors today clearly. "I apologize, Celes."

"Tell that to our son, whom you just insulted."

"I would if he had—"

"Severus Tobias, don't you dare finish that sentence!"

He glanced upwards, closing his eyes. This was not going well. At all. He blamed the hormones for causing her to become irrational. "I was merely stating that our son's ears are still developing, Aurora." When he felt a hard punch to his shoulder, he glanced at her and frowned.

"You take that back right this moment or the next thing I'll do is hex _your_ ears off."

"There is no need for your—"

"You are insulting our son, Severus," she growled with her maternal instincts in overdrive.

He blinked. "No. I'm stating—"

"Then keep your damn facts to yourself, because I don't want to hear it." She then pointed her finger at him, glaring. "I will not have you destroying our son's self-esteem before he's even born."

"That won't happen!" Severus replied defensively.

"Says you. Tell me. Are you an expert in babies? What they can and can't hear when in their mother's womb?" The sarcasm just oozed out of her. Clearly, he had rubbed off on her over the years.

He groaned, scoffing and shaking his head. She was acting completely and utterly mad.

"No? Well, then shut it."

"There is no reason for you to act like a complete—" His mouth snapped shut instantly when he noticed her eyes trained on him with the darkest look he had ever seen from her before. If he were a different man, he perhaps might have admitted that he was a bit fearful of his wife right then.

"I can't believe I ever married you, you . . ." She clenched her jaw tightly shut as she obviously was at a loss of words, overcome by her anger temporarily. "You—UGH!" She threw her hands up into the air in utter frustration.

At the sight of a stray hex being thrown his way, Severus ducked and inhaled sharply when it hit the wall. Perhaps he pushed her just a _bit_ too far this time if she had lost control of her magic like that.

"You insufferable, goddamn ARSE!" she screamed at him before rushing out of the hospital wing, away from him. The door slammed shut behind her soon after, causing him to sigh inwardly.

After he emerged from the room as well a few moments later, Madam Pomfrey softly remarked, "Well, that could've gone better, I think." She held a moving photograph that contained their son's image out to him with a faint smile.

"I was not wrong, Madam," Severus quietly stated.

"Perhaps not medically," Pomfrey agreed with a shrug, "but I believe someone once told me that no one likes a know-it-all." He glared at the witch instantly, not enjoying hearing his own words thrown back in his face. She gently patted his arm, though. "Give her time to cool off, Severus. She'll be calmer later and might find this all . . . amusing once the hormones lessen a bit."

"Somehow, I doubt that." He then sighed, his eyes flickering down to the magical sonogram. He supposed if he really stared at it, his son was—no, he just couldn't see it yet. He slipped the photo into his pocket and inclined his head to her. "Thank you, Madam." She only nodded in acknowledgement before she walked off again, leaving Severus all alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Walking along the empty corridor bordering one of the many courtyards, Severus found himself wandering aimlessly throughout the castle. He usually wasn't one to partake in such ridiculousness as that, but his mind couldn't make a decision as to his destination. His rooms seemed like the worst idea ever, as he knew Aurora would need her space for a bit. And the headmaster's office brought up even more uncomfortableness than ever before, what with the ghosts and that. The dungeons were practically similar to walking into a lion's den nowadays, seeing as how his former Slytherins knew his true loyalties now. And the lake would be too overrun with students trying to escape the castle as it was.

Glancing to his left while passing an archway that led down to Black Lake, he caught the flurry of activity around the white marble memorial. The workers were hard at work again. The marble being laid down had finally reached the halfway point with a wiry structure still outlining the unfinished section near its top. It wouldn't be long now before they added the final bit of marble and started on the lighting of the eternal flame and the etching processes. He turned away a moment later, his heart heavy, and headed towards the tall, silvery-leaved tree in front of him in the courtyard.

The place of tranquility, as he had always called it, had been one place where he could be alone with his thoughts in difficult times. As he rounded the large trunk, though, he noticed a young man already sitting in his spot, reading the _Daily Prophet_ that had a large photo of a somber Dumbledore begging for forgiveness before the full Wizengamot. He paused briefly before pushing forward and choosing the bench opposite of the young man. This was yet another conversation long overdue.

"Professor Snape!" cried the Gryffindor, nearly slipping off his seat.

"Mister Longbottom," Severus replied quietly. He then motioned towards the vacant bench. "Do you have any objections to my sitting out here with you?"

"No, sir." Neville seemed to brighten up instantly. "It'd be an honor actually."

Severus scoffed, sitting down across from him. "An honor to sit near a man who made your life hell for seven years?" He shook his head. "Where you Gryffindors find your logic, I will never understand." He caught Neville's quiet chuckle. The two let the peace fall around them for a bit.

"I hear you and Professor Sinistra are having another baby," Neville said a few minutes afterwards, the _Prophet_ put away now. "I mean, well, we all knew that since you were Toby and she was Celes, and you two didn't really hide your relationship or anything when you were them. It's just now we can all say it aloud. Our congratulations, you know?"

"Thank you," Severus replied curtly. It still was unsettling to hear others speaking so civilly with him again. When he had been Toby, he could understand their civility. But to hear the same pleasantries when they spoke to him now, knowing that he was Severus Snape: Deaged . . . it was unbelievable.

"So, um, if, well, um . . ."

"Spit it out, Longbottom." He caught the young man's flinch instantly and sighed inwardly. He had caused that, those deep emotional scars to the boy over the years.

"I, well, I'm just—not that it's any of my concern mind you, I just wondered why you weren't with her right now. I would have thought that since we all know, we at Hogwarts at least, that you two are married and expecting, that you'd be with the professor, enjoying your second chance for a family."

Severus couldn't stop the loud sigh of exasperation from leaving his lips this time. Just how much had Harry divulged about his life to the others? Did everyone know about Evans now?

"I admit I tire hearing those words."

"It's just an observation," Neville stated with a shrug. "You don't have to answer it. Not like I have any right to know that sort of stuff anyway."

"Says the young man who killed Nagini," Severus remarked dryly.

"I just did what Harry told me to do, sir." Neville then sighed as well, his hands folded neatly on his lap. "Everyone keeps telling me how brave I am."

"I know the feeling." Neville glanced at him and considered that for a moment before his head fell forward slightly.

"Yeah, I suppose you do, sir. Only you _were_ brave."

"No, Longbottom. I was filled with remorse because of a power-hungry adolescent's mistake. I wasn't brave. Hardly. I was . . ." Severus exhaled loudly and shook his head. "I was frankly a coward trying to save my own skin all these years."

"That's not how we see it, sir."

"Well, you're a Gryffindor, not exactly known for seeing things clearly," Severus replied, holding onto his usual dry language.

"It has nothing to do with what House I belong to, Professor," Neville argued. "You could have sent Ginny, Luna, and me to the Carrows after what we pulled in your office last year. Instead, you sent us to Hagrid, where you knew we'd be safe. And you did it all under the noses of the other Death Eaters. That takes guts."

"Again, Longbottom, it was merely a means to an end. That is all."

"Thestral dung."

"Excuse me?" Severus's brow rose. He understood that his seeming younger now and having been Toby the less imposing character for a while would make the other students less frightened by him now, but he hadn't expected _that_.

"It wasn't just 'merely a means to an end,' sir, and you know it. You protected us that day. Just like you protected Harry all those years in secret. So maybe it isn't just Gryffindors who are blind, maybe it's you as well, sir." There was a certain strength in the young man's voice now as he spoke.

"Mister Longbottom," Severus started to warn until he was interrupted.

"No, sir. No 'Mister Longbottom.' You see, it's funny, but when I had the Sorting Hat on my head that day, I could only think about you, sir."

Severus blinked. "I don't follow." What did he have to do with the Sorting Hat?

"You terrified me beyond all reason. So, after news broke that you had died in the Shrieking Shack, well, I foolishly thought that with you gone, I had no more reason to be scared. We all knew Voldemort was going to kill us one way or another. And then when we saw Harry's body, I just couldn't help but think, 'What more could He do to me at this point?' So, I fought back. Ignored my self-doubts."

His eyes narrowed on the young man as he heard Neville's unspoken words. "You truly found me to be more terrifying than the Dark Lord himself?" he asked in obvious disbelief.

Neville held his eyes, though, a feat he had never done before in all their years together. "Yes, sir. I did. Well, I still do sometimes, but this—" he motioned towards Severus's younger appearance "helps, though. I'm sure when the spell or potion or whatever wears off, I'll be terrified of you again."

"I see." Severus's frown deepened as Aurora's earlier words echoed in his mind. Would he scare his own son this bad some day? Cause the boy to cower behind his mother in fear of his father's fierce temper? A sick feeling rumbled in his gut.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, sir," Neville stated, rambling again like usual.

"I was—am—a bully, Mister Longbottom. There is no other way to justify my actions."

"Yes, but you had to be, didn't you?" Neville shrugged. "I've got a lot of time now, you see, and I realized that. You _had_ to be harsh with us. Otherwise, none of this would have worked. He wouldn't have believed you frankly when you returned to His side. So, I guess if it comes down to it, you might be partially right with your 'ends justify the means' thing, but it's more of a self-preservation thing I would imagine. A bit like Tentaculars. They'll sacrifice themselves for the rest of the group, given the right conditions, lashing out at whomever comes near."

Severus considered that for a moment before he realized he didn't know how to counter that logic. Tentaculars were known for their aggressiveness. And yet most didn't know that their aggression was mostly a result of the Tentacular feeling that others in its group were being threatened. In fact, he only knew this because of his being a Potions Master for so long.

"So, why _are_ you here anyway, sir?" Neville asked, giving him a curious look. "I'm sure it's not just to talk with me."

"How astute of you," Severus dryly replied. He then rubbed the back of his neck, biting back an annoyed sigh. There was no reason he had to speak any longer with the young man. He had expressed his gratitude for Longbottom's killing of the snake. So, he wondered then why he remained sitting there across from the young man, carrying on such a strange conversation. The situation would never had occurred if he had been his normal thirty-eight-year-old self. Neville would have been too scared.

"Fine. Keep your secrets."

Severus scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Now, you sound like Aurora."

"Thank you," Neville replied with a faint smile. He then kicked a rock on the ground before he glanced through his long hair at Severus. He seemed to watch him for a bit before he nodded shortly. "You know, I bet if you just apologized, Professor Sinistra would forgive you."

Crossing his arms defensively, Severus frowned. "Now, what makes you believe I said anything to upset her, Mister Longbottom?"

"Because I know you, Professor Snape," Neville shot back, crossing his arms as well.

Grumbling quietly, Severus inclined his head. How had he become so predictable? "There may perhaps be some truth to your words," he drawled.

"So, apologize to her, sir." Neville gave him a friendly smile. "I think we both know how forgiving Professor Sinistra can be."

"Yes, well, you weren't there, Longbottom." Severus glanced away and frowned. They always made it seem so easy . . . apologize and it would be all better. Nothing more than lies, though, he knew.

"Did you insult her?"

"No."

"Did you hurt her?"

"Of course not," Severus snapped, glaring at the young man.

"Then nothing is unforgivable, sir. So, just be honest with her and apologize."

"I insulted our son, Longbottom! She doesn't want an apology. She wants my head on a stick!"

"Honestly, sir, I would imagine she knew when she married you that her life would be full of insults, so, respectfully, I don't think that's it."

Severus frowned. Everyone always thought they knew better than everyone else. Well, he'd show him a thing or two then. "I didn't agree with her assessment on our child's attractiveness. So, tell me, Longbottom. What else could it be if not my insulting our son? Hmm?"

"What did you say?"

Pulling the magical sonogram of his son out, he held it out to Neville. "Look at that picture and tell me what you see."

Neville's eyes flicked to the photo for a second before he shrugged. "I see a baby."

"Does he look 'beautiful' to you?"

"Oh," Neville said instantly, recognition flooding his face at once.

" _Oh_ , what?" Severus then looked back at his son's photo as well. What was everyone else seeing that he wasn't? When he looked back at Neville, he noticed the young man's uneasiness. "Out with it, Longbottom!"

"It's just, well, don't _you_ already know, sir?" Neville asked, giving him a look.

"Obviously not. Now, what in the Nine Hells are you going on about?"

"She's not referring to his 'attractiveness' or anything like that. She's just, well, scared that something's going to happen again. That there might be something wrong with the baby. So, I mean, look at him. He's got fingers breaking up and looks like what one would expect from a healthy unborn baby. Not that I know anything about babies, I mean."

Severus looked back at his son's photo, his eyes narrowing on it. "So, what you're saying is that she was fawning all over this image because—"

"She's seen with her own eyes now that he's healthy, yeah," Neville offered with a shrug. "I mean, from what I've seen with the way Gran and her friends have talked over the years whenever someone's daughter was pregnant, they all sort of gather around this sort of thing and find it amazing. Gran said once it's because it gives them all the feeling of knowing they'll soon be holding the baby in their arms. Like it's a rite of passage for mothers or something. To her, sir, beautiful means healthy."

"Oh."

"So, when you said whatever you said, it brought up all that negativity, that fear of something happening again, and—don't tell her I said this—her hormones just took your words a step farther and scared her even more."

What Neville was saying was oddly making sense to him. He stared at the young man in amazement. He couldn't believe how much Neville had grown in the past few years. Shaking his head, Severus calmly put his son's photo away.

"I see."

"So, what you need to do then is simple." Severus glanced at him. Simple? "Remind her of the good. Make up with her in other words." Neville then gave a little chuckle. "Gran said Dad used to take Mum out for long walks in the pasture behind the house whenever this would happen."

"He distracted her in other words."

"Yeah." Neville gave a slight shrug. "It's just a suggestion, sir." He then moved to stand up, grabbing his bag as he did. "I should head over to the greenhouses." Giving Severus a faint smile, he held his hand out to him. "Thank you, Professor. For everything."

Severus stared at Neville's outstretched hand for a second before he shook it. "And thank you, Mister Longbottom, for killing that damned snake."

Neville snorted and nodded. "Anytime, sir. If you have any other poisonous animals trying to murder you, I'm always a Patronus away," he joked.

Shaking his head, Severus gave a soft laugh. "I'll keep that in mind." He pulled his hand back a moment later and watched Neville turn and head towards the general direction of the greenhouses. It was amazing to see how much everyone had changed during his tenure at Hogwarts. Who would have thought that a shy little first-year, as Neville had been, could grow up to be such a fierce warrior, a rebel, hell a leader? He rubbed at his face briefly.

Pomona had been right when she approached Severus over the summer about Neville helping her this year with first-year Herbology. He had reluctantly agreed at the time, but now it seemed to be the correct decision. Neville had all the markings of a good teacher in him. And from what Severus had heard thus far from the rest of the staff, the young man was taking his new responsibilities well, continuing to do well in his own classes. He scratched his jawline for a moment as a thought came to him. He'd have to discuss it with Pomona later. But for now, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Like finding his wife and making up with her.

"You'll find her by the lake, Headmaster," commented the Gray Lady as she suddenly floated past before she disappeared through a nearby wall.

He sighed loudly. Some days he positively hated Hogwarts.

* * *

After having Disapparated from Hogwarts together wearing their finest dress robes, Severus and Aurora appeared in a deserted alleyway near the restaurant. He offered his wife a hand to steady herself before they continued onward.

"You're certain it's not a problem?" she asked for the hundredth time that evening.

"Yes, Aurora. It's fine. I promise you." He did his very best to keep his annoyance out of his voice, but he knew that he couldn't keep all of it from escaping. Why she was still worried about her asking him to invite their parents to dinner with them tonight was beyond him. He had agreed.

"It's not going to ruin anything? You're certain of this?"

He swallowed back his groan and forced his smile a bit more. "It's fine, Celes." How many times must he say that to her before she'd believe him? Honestly.

"Because if you don't want to do this, I'll—"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, woman," he snapped, his patience completely worn thin. He stopped abruptly and turned to her. "For the last goddamn time, it's fine! If you want our families here with us tonight, then they'll be here. Otherwise, I'll gladly send a Patronus to the both of them and tell them never mind. This night is about you. Do you understand? It is about me making up for being a complete arse to you earlier and apologizing. Now, do _you_ have any objections to our parents joining us at dinner? Or can we please just get on with this and get to the restaurant finally?" He frowned when he caught her arms crossing. No doubt, she mistook his words yet again, thanks to the overabundance of hormones.

"So, you think you can buy me? Is that it? You can just buy my happiness and it'll all be better? How grand," she replied sarcastically.

He threw his hands up into the air and groaned loudly. At this point, it would be a miracle if they made it through the night without killing one another.

"Oh, you're upset? _You're_ upset?!" she shouted incredulously, glaring at him. "Tell me, Severus. Are your ankles the size of grapefruits? Are you feeling like a—Hey! Where are you going?" she yelled as he started to walk away from her. "Severus!"

She had to almost run to catch up with him. Him and his damn long legs. When she finally did somehow manage to catch up, he hardly even acknowledged her presence, let alone slow down for her. She huffed, forcing herself to try to keep up.

"Will you stop for one goddamn minute, you bloody bat?" she yelled, her breathing coming in loud pants as she sprinted after him.

He slowed just a bit. Enough for her to fall into step with him semi-comfortably.

She took several deep breaths, practically panting after having basically run to keep up with him. The anger had slipped away from her somewhat. It was then she realized why he had turned away from her like that. Her eyes closed briefly before she spoke quietly. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." He remained silent, however, which caused her to continue with a bit more bite to her words. "You know, you could at least say something. Go on. Use your big words and make all of us mere mortals feel stupid like you always do, Severus."

His eyes darted to her. "Give me a minute to think, witch, and I will."

Biting back a huff of annoyance, she nodded and waited. She watched him as she did, noticing the lines deepen on his face. Whatever he was thinking about, it clearly seemed to require a lot of mental energy. After another minute passed, she glanced upwards at the inky sky. It looked like it could rain at any moment, she thought glumly. When she felt her husband's gentle touch on her face as he slowly moved her head so she'd look at him, she frowned, not liking the look on his face.

"I should never have described our son as I did earlier. It was a serious error in judgment, and I apologize, Aurora." He quietly sighed. "I admit that at present time I do not share the same strong feelings for our son as you do, but that will come in time. Currently, I am—well, overwhelmed with this entire experience. As I am certain is the case for you as well." He then held her gaze and stressed his following statement. "I am learning, Aurora. None of this comes naturally to me, as it does for you. You must—I implore that you . . ." His voice trailed off before he inhaled sharply and started again, clearly frustrated with himself. "I need you to be patient with me. Otherwise . . ." He shook his head abruptly, as if to shake out that particular thought. "I am sorry, Aurora. I should have thought before I spoke earlier in the hospital wing. You do not need my kind of negativity, and certainly not at this point."

"Severus, stop."

"In a minute," he replied offhandedly, clearly having more to say but unsure of how to say it.

"No. Now," she argued, forcing him to turn back to her. "I accept your apology. Now, shut it."

"I have more to say, though."

"Oh, of that I'm certain," she remarked with a soft laugh. "But I accepted your apology. So . . ." She motioned towards the restaurant that was just a few feet from them. "Let's go join our families and eat. Because I don't know about you, but I'm positively starving."

"One more moment, please," he stated, though. When she relented, he continued. "I will make mistakes, Aurora. I will say stupid things, but I do not mean my words. You must believe me. I do not mean such things as that. I swear to you."

"I know. Nor do I." She then rested a hand against his chest. "I'm not expecting this to be perfect. I'm not even wanting it to be. Circe knows my temper is going to get the better of me some days and you will be the unfortunate subject of my ire. It's going to be messy, but then again we knew this going into it." She ran her hand through her dark curls. "I mean, let's be honest. We lost a child. That hurt and pain doesn't just go away once you learn that you're pregnant again. It's not like replacing a quill after all. All I'm asking for, from both of us, is that we be there for one another, that we are a team this time. Together. Open and honest." She then glanced into the large windows of the restaurant. "Which is why I asked you to ask our families to join us tonight, Severus. I want our son to know his grandparents, even my mother Circe-willing. And I want them to know our son. We . . . we hid last time. And . . ." Her voice shook slightly before she inhaled deeply and started again. "This time, no more secrets, no more lies, no more."

He nodded. "I understand." He had known when he married her how much family meant to her.

"Then, shall we?" She held her hand out to him with a faint smile. They walked in soon after.

* * *

After the pleasantries had finished and the food was ordered, Severus stood up and excused himself from the table. He caught the flickers of concern from his mother and wife, but waved their concerns away. One of these days the women in his life would finally stop fussing over him. He was certain of it.

Pushing open the door to the restroom, he walked in and promptly stopped at recognizing the person already inside. Murphy's Law had struck again.

"Professor Snape!" the young man exclaimed wearing elegant dress robes. He wore a look of complete shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same about you, Potter," Severus replied dryly, his lips pursing slightly.

"Oh, well, I'm here having dinner with Luna. Actually, um, it's not so much of a dinner with her as much as it's sort of a date." Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Let me guess, though. You and Professor Sinistra are celebrating your anniversary or something?"

"Our anniversary is in August." He then caught Harry's flicker of surprise and frowned even more. Why had he told Potter that? It was absurd. The young man didn't care when Aurora and he had married. He only cared about how awkward all of this was.

"What are the odds of us running into one another, huh?"

"Indeed." Severus then sighed and shook his head. Of course he'd run into Potter. He should've known better. He walked around the young man and headed towards the sink to wash his hands.

"So, if it's not an anniversary dinner, what is it?"

Severus glanced at him in the mirror and glared.

"And just how exactly is that any of your business, Mister Potter?" he drawled.

"It's not. Just trying to diffuse the tension," he replied with a shrug. Both of them glanced at the door when it opened again and someone entered. Harry was the first to start laughing.

"What?" the other young man said confused. "Do I have a piece of hair sticking up or something, Potter? What is it?"

Snape groaned and let his head fall forward in silent defeat. This night was just getting better and better. At this rate, he'd be lucky if the whole school wasn't here by the end of it.

"Are you here then with Hermione, Malfoy?" he heard Harry ask next to him.

"Uh, yeah, I am. Why?" Draco then sighed loudly, clearly upset with himself at something. "I knew I should've taken her to that French place instead. She likes it better there, doesn't she?"

"I haven't the slightest. I'm just finding it ironic that all three of us chose this place for our dates tonight. I was telling Professor Snape that right before you came in."

"Oh." Draco shrugged. "Well, Longbottom suggested it. Said I should take Granger out tonight, and this was the first place I could think of. Father used to bring Mother here sometimes."

"Huh," Harry said quietly. "He suggested something similar to me as well earlier."

Severus kept his mouth firmly shut. When he returned later, he'd clearly be having a talk with Longbottom. Turning away from the sink, he briskly brushed past both young men.

"Did Neville suggest you take your wife out on a date as well, sir?" Harry asked just as Severus nearly reached the door.

"Of course not, Potter," Severus snapped. "I'm a grown man."

"Well, certainly not in appearance."

Severus whirled on both young men, doing his best to look imposing again. However, with both of them being similar height and age to him, that was rather difficult to accomplish.

"Are you insinuating, Mister Potter, that I am incapable of thinking for myself? I surely hope you are not for your sake."

"So, what'd you do, sir?" Malfoy asked suddenly, leaning against the bathroom wall cockily.

Severus's nostrils flared out. How dare those boys! The cheek on them! "Perhaps I should remind you, Mister Malfoy, that I am still the headmaster. Which means I can revoke yours and Potter's privileges of leaving the castle."

"What do you think, Potter?" Draco said, ignoring Snape's threat.

"My first guess was that he was here for their anniversary, but he shot that down. So, I'd say he said something and is trying to make up for it now."

"Yeah, that's probably the one."

Severus glared at both of them, grinding his teeth together. He had visions of murdering then right then and there. However, before those urges could come true, the door opened once more.

"I was beginning to think you got lost in here," Orin remarked as he stepped inside. His eyes then flitted over to the other two occupants. "Misters Potter and Malfoy. Well, this is a surprise." He gave them both a polite smile. "Are you two here with dates?"

Severus's stomach dropped instantly. Years of being around Orin's daughter had taught him what that smile followed by a rhetorical question meant. And that experience usually meant something awful was about to happen.

"How about you boys join us?"

There it was. The awful thing. Severus held his breath, hoping the young men did the respectable thing and just declined. However, as a second passed of silence, he couldn't wait any longer.

"I don't believe that would be prudent, considering our teacher-student relationships with them," Severus reminded gently.

"Oh?" That pit in Severus's stomach got bigger. If there was any phrase he hated above all, it was the dread 'oh' phrase spoken by a Sinistra. "Have you been cleared for duty, then, and just not told anyone yet?" Orin's eyes met his. "Because, and forgive me, but I was under the impression that you were still on a leave of absence and could not return to your post until you had been cleared by a healer." His smile deepened, as he knew he had a point there.

"It's okay, sir," Harry replied finally with a soft laugh. "We'll just leave him to his date."

"It's not a date," Severus grumbled.

"Please, gentlemen, I insist," Orin responded, though, brushing off his son-in-law's objections. "After all, you're practically family." His eyes then met Severus's again, daring him to argue. "And that _is_ what this dinner is all about, isn't that right, son?"

Orin was going to be stubborn about this. He'd likely even fight to death if pressed, Severus guessed. Biting back his words then, Severus inclined his head in defeating acceptance. He supposed there was some truth in his father-in-law's words. Harry was almost family to him, as the boy was Lily's son. And Draco . . . he had protected the lost Slytherin the best he could as well, especially during the young man's sixth year when the boy had gotten in too deep like Severus had all those years ago. So, it was true that they were practically family. Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he envisioned it.

* * *

Or not. It was much, much worse than he had ever imagined it would be. As painful as it was to admit, he'd rather have been at the twins' store eating Puking pastries. Anywhere but there.

Question after question had been thrown at him. Or perhaps that was all in his head? At this point, he wasn't certain anymore. It seemed as if there was a horrible spotlight trained solely on him. Numerous times he had to adjust his collar as he felt horribly hot underneath.

"Professor, there appear to be Redenbobbles swarming around your ears."

Severus's eyes, and everyone else's for that matter, darted to the blond haired witch sitting next to Harry. What the hell were Redenbobbles?

"Are you feeling nervous about something?" Luna continued, leaning towards him with her usual pleasant smile on her face. "Because Redenbobbles feed off a person's nervousness, you know. It's why so many people's ears turn red when they're anxious."

Almost instantly, Severus heard his wife burst out laughing before she quickly covered her mouth and tried to recover. He gave her his best look of annoyance. It wasn't that funny. He then caught the others' lips twitching upwards and felt his irritation worsen.

"I shall keep that in mind, Miss Lovegood," he replied with a forced smile before taking a quick sip of his elf wine.

"Redenbobbles?" Tobias repeated curiously. There was a light thump right afterwards, and the table shifted slightly. No doubt, someone had tried to kick Tobias's leg to keep him quiet. However, Severus's father seemed not to have even noticed this. "Just how does one get rid of these . . . things anyway, my lovely?"

There was a soft groan from someone.

"Oh!" Luna's face brightened with excitement at the prospect of a captive audience. She then sat up a bit straighter, as if she were about to lecture at a symposium. "There actually is some debate about it. Some people recommend you eat popcorn, as it will scare them off with the noise. Others suggest garlic, though, as it is a natural repellant of most things."

"I see," Tobias replied, nodding. His finger lightly grazed his jawline in thought.

"Tobias," Eileen warned in a hushed voice, her eyes trained on her son who looked like he was one second away from Disapparating.

"But I think jalapenos are needed in this case with Professor Snape. The Redenbobbles appear to have taken quite a hold on him, it seems," Luna stated.

Severus couldn't take anymore. He let his head fall to the table with a loud thump. Would it be too much to ask for the ground to swallow him up at this point? He didn't think it was that much to ask really. Hell, he'd take the Aurors at this point. A cell next to Dumbledore in Azkaban . . . whatever.

"I respectfully disagree, Luna," Aurora said speaking up soon after.

Severus opened one eye and peeked through his long hair at his wife. Oh Merlin above . . .

"I don't think it's that bad at all. I think just a little . . . less attention on him might be needed, you know? Like how one starves a cold?" she stated with a shrug.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I use a potion when I have a cold, ma'am," Draco replied, wincing a moment later as the thump and table shifting returned.

"Yes, well, some of us aren't so naturally inclined as you when it comes to potions, Mister Malfoy," Aurora shot back.

"Aren't you married to a brilliant Potions Master, though?" asked Harry rhetorically.

"This isn't about me, gentlemen."

"It could be." Draco shrugged again, swirling his glass of wine with a cocky smile.

"Exactly," Harry agreed, his grin widening. They were like wolves circling.

"Just ignore them, Professor," Hermione said rather bored.

"I usually do, Miss Granger," Aurora replied with a gentle laugh.

Having the momentarily respite, Severus felt his previous anxiety start to fade. It was absurd that his wife had to come to his defense yet again. It was only Potter, Malfoy, their dates, and his and Aurora's families. There was no reason to feel so unsettled. Who gave a damn about them? He had his wife and child. And his parents. And his father-in-law. And his sister-in-law. And—he groaned.

"I don't mean to intrude, ma'am, but how is the baby?"

"It's perfectly all right." Aurora waved Hermione's uneasiness away. "He's doing well according to Madam Pomfrey."

"I have a grandson?" Eileen cut in, staring at her daughter-in-law for a moment before whatever emotion she wore on her face was replaced. "Well, I expect him to be named after a Roman, Severus. Preferably one who didn't have a mother complex."

"Oh? So Nero is out then?" Aurora deadpanned. "Because we were so set on naming him that. It's just a strong name, don't you think?"

Eileen looked horrified for a brief second before she smiled thinly. "I suppose if you don't mind that he murdered his mother . . . among other things."

"Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or rather did." Aurora shrugged, crossing her arms as she held her mother-in-law's fierce look.

"I wouldn't actually do everythin' the Romans did, Aurora. See . . . Nero's mum also murdered Nero's dad. So . . ." Tobias took a quick swig of his drink and glanced at his son. "There's that."

"Oh my god, I get it now!" Harry exclaimed, his head turning towards Severus. "That's where you get your humor from, sir."

"Your observation skills are positively amazing, Mister Potter," Eileen quipped. "It's no wonder you accused my son of trying to kill you year after year."

"I didn't think that every year," Harry argued.

"Almost," Draco pointed out with a soft snort.

"She's right, you know. You did seem to always blame him for everything," Hermione pointed out with an apologetic smile.

"So did you, Hermione!" Harry shot back.

"I didn't," Luna cut in, smiling proudly at herself. "Honestly, it was quite easy to figure Professor Snape out actually."

"It was?" Severus asked quietly.

"Yes. Why else would the Brakasours leave you alone, Professor?"

"Brakasours?" he repeated slowly. "What the hell are they?" He then kicked himself for asking.

"Very terrible creatures that are no more than a size of a pebble. They imbed themselves into their victim's neck and secrete a toxin that forces you to commit crimes. It's why most people end up in Azkaban. There was an outbreak of them and the Ministry refuses to do anything about it because they created them in a lab."

Orin instantly started to choke on his water.

"Really?" Severus glanced at his father-in-law and frowned. "How . . . fascinating."

"They can't stand love, though. So, they try to avoid people who feel very strongly in love. I would imagine either Harry's mother or Professor Sinistra saved you, sir." Luna then smiled even more. "I know this because of your Patronus. Harry's mother's, isn't it? A doe?"

Silence fell around the table then, as everyone was too shocked to speak. Severus forced himself to nod slowly. It was a long while before Hermione finally spoke, cutting the thick tension.

"So, Professor Sinistra, where was your first date with Professor Snape?" The young woman then must have heard her question because her face whitened. "I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just . . . curious is all."

Aurora glanced at Severus and caught his slight hesitant nod of approval.

"Um, well, we sort of had other things on our mind when we started dating. Voldemort had just returned, so Severus was busy with that whole fiasco. So . . . there weren't any formal dates."

"You didn't go out together? Ever?" Harry asked surprised. "Not even for a quick lunch to the Hog's Head or something?"

Frowning, Severus lifted his head up and met the young man's eyes. Before he could respond, though, Draco did.

"It would've been too dangerous. The Dark Lord had spies everywhere. The Ministry. Hogsmeade. Hell, even Surrey." Draco twirled his noodles around his fork disinterestedly as he spoke. "They'd have seen them together and put two-and-two together."

"I was seen as a blood traitor," Aurora explained. "So, my voicing my feelings so vocally as I did for Severus was only interesting to the Death Eaters for amusement factors. A way to mock me when we'd come across one another. So as long as Severus kept pretending that I meant nothing to him, that he barely even knew I existed let alone cared for, no one really paid much attention."

"How heartbreaking," Hermione murmured.

Eileen snorted, taking a sip of her wine.

"I suppose," Aurora said with a shrug. "But we knew that it was the only way. We couldn't just keep brushing aside our feelings and pretending like there wasn't something there anymore. It was . . . we were failing at that." She shook her head before she added, "Miserably."

"Professor Snape punching Karkoff after the Durmstrang professor kissed your cheek," Harry stated with a knowing nod.

"That was his moment, yes. Mine were seen as just normal moments to anyone who knew me. It wasn't unusual to hear me defend his actions so fiercely. More than a few times, in fact, Minerva had to pull me aside and tell me to control myself. But after Cedric's death . . . after he came back, I . . . I couldn't do it any longer." She glanced at her husband and sighed quietly. It was his story to tell.

"As I'm certain all of you can imagine," Severus began, "my return to the Dark Lord's ranks was met with uneasiness and suspicion. I had returned two hours later than the others."

"You were punished," Draco quietly spoke.

"Yes." Severus drew in a slow breath, feeling both his parents' eyes on him. No doubt, they wondered why he hadn't spoken with them privately about this. He glanced down guiltily at his hand that was holding Aurora's. "After it was finished and the Dark Lord was convinced that I was still loyal to him," Severus continued, his voice wavering just a bit, "he had two of followers return me to Hogwarts and leave me at the gates. I was to serve as a warning to Dumbledore." Severus closed his eyes, the memories flashing in his mind. There was only so much Occlumency could fight.

"I had been waiting in my rooms for him to return. It had seemed like a lifetime had passed before the Baron finally informed me that he was at the gates. I ran as fast as I could, taking shortcuts wherever there were some. When I found him . . ." Her voice cracked before she shook her head.

"Bloodied and unconscious. Much like how you found me, Mister Potter," Severus said, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. There was no reason they had to divulge that particular night, but she had brought it up first. And if there was anything Pomfrey had taught him over their time together as healer-patient, it was that when an issue arose, it was best to address it head on and discuss it.

"I took him back to the castle. I . . . it's stupid now thinking on it, but I didn't want Albus anywhere near him. Not after . . . not after that."

"It's not foolish at all, Professor," Harry stated.

"I agree," Tobias and Eileen said.

She waved away their words, though. "I didn't know what I was doing. I'm no healer by any means, you know? But I just . . . it was as if someone was guiding me. One moment, I had him in his rooms, soaked in blood and pale as a ghost. The next, his color had returned, his breathing better. The marks fading and knitting themselves closed."

Orin smiled faintly. "You get that from your mother," he quietly said, addressing his daughter tenderly. "That natural ability to heal others. It's what made her a good healer for so long."

Severus felt his wife's slight jerk of her hand at the mentioning of her mother, but Aurora remained silent, though. So, he continued for her.

"Madam Pomfrey remarked later when she examined me how nicely I was healing. At first, she didn't believe Aurora when she told the matron my injuries. But upon further inspection, she saw the remnants that were too deep to remove."

"Once I was certain he would be fine, I left and went straight to Albus's office. It's not like he listened at all to my ranting and raving. I knew that. But I needed him to see that Severus wasn't just some person no one cared what happened to. I needed him to know that I would not stand by idly as he sacrificed all of us that he deemed unworthy for his stupid Greater Good." The anger filled every one of her words. "I needed him to get that."

"Good for you, Professor," Hermione said.

"I, however, was the one who brushed aside her concerns and fears," Severus admitted. "I had to make things right and redeem myself for the sins of my past. So, I decided then that as soon as I was able, I would continue being a double agent."

"Which led to many arguments in the following days," Aurora explained with a quiet laugh. "Because I didn't want to lose him to the darkness again . . . or worse, lose him altogether."

"And I didn't want to admit that I perhaps had developed some sort of feelings for the only witch besides my mother who fully accepted me over the years, as I believed a relationship with Aurora would only be a distraction to my overall goal."

"So we argued."

"Threw things at one another." He then hastily added, "Purposefully missing of course."

"Hexes were thrown, I believe," Aurora said laughing.

"Insults were definitely tossed about."

"Until we finally just . . . kissed."

"And you lived happily ever after, the end," Eileen remarked dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Hardly, Mother," Severus replied.

"Some of the best relationships start with bickering. Wouldn't you say, Tobias?" Orin quipped.

"Damn straight," Severus's father replied with a wide grin.

Draco and Hermione shared a look with secret smiles.

"You said earlier you two got married in August," Harry began, his eyes narrowed as he was clearly working something out in his head.

"August 10, 1995," Aurora answered quickly.

"Didn't waste much time gettin' married, did ya?" Tobias teased.

"And to think, we're just find out about this now. Three years after the fact," Eileen bitterly said.

"Tell me, Mother," Severus started, his voice holding a cold edge to it. "Would you rather have had me inform you of our eloping in an owl instead?"

"It's been three years, Severus," she pointed out, giving him a look. "Three."

"Yes, well, perhaps it escaped your notice, but there was a war going on at the time. It's not as if I could stop everything I was doing just to inform you personally of the change in my marital status."

"And yet you _could_ stop everything and marry her!" she shot back.

"El!" Tobias exclaimed.

"Eileen!" Orin rebuked.

"Whoa!" mouthed the four kids.

"Under a set of aliases in a Muggle town in Italy, Mother."

"You didn't even marry her in England?!" Eileen cried.

"Told you she'd be upset about that," Aurora smiled.

"Oh, shut it," he groused before he turned his attention back to his mother. "What part of 'It was dangerous' did you not understand exactly?"

"All of it," Eileen drawled snottily before she crossed her arms. "You both are just going to have to get married again. The proper way this time. And, for the love of God, in England!"

"Technically, we are married, Mother."

"No, technically _your aliases_ are married, Severus. Now, we will keep it a simple affair." Her eyes briefly darted to Aurora. "Just families and close friends, I think." She then held a finger up to quiet them. "Ones of my choosing. I will not have any of her airhead friends attending."

"Excuse me?" Aurora exclaimed, outraged.

"Eileen, let the kids decide."

"Yes, so it'll be _three more years_ before we'll be invited to that wedding," Eileen replied sarcastically. "This way is quick and efficient."

"And ridiculous," Aurora muttered under her breath.

"Just for that comment, you are not allowed to wear white now. Merlin knows, you're hardly a virgin after all."

"Mother," Severus said in his best 'play nice' voice.

"Oh, yeah? And just for that, you're not allowed to see your grandson ever. So there!" Aurora snapped back. "Tobias can see the sonogram, but not you. You'd probably scare him too much anyway, seeing as how you're a bitter, old hag!"

The kids inhaled sharply, as likely not having witnessed anything like this before.

"And you thought my mum was bad," Draco quietly said under his breath to Hermione, who sat there staring at Eileen wearily.

"Ya got the sonogram already? Damn. Let me take a look at him, son," Tobias asked softly, holding his hand out. He flashed a brief appreciate smile when Severus complied a moment later. His eyes went to the photo soon after, and Tobias whistled loudly. "Well, shit, son. He's gorgeous. Hell, look at those little adorable hands of his." Tobias then glanced at him, handing the photo to Orin—purposefully keeping it from his wife's hands. "You did good, Severus. You did real good."

It was surreal to hear such praise coming from someone else's lips. More often than not, he was the subject of others' scorn. That was the way it had been most of his life in fact. And yet, there his father was, praising him for nothing really. It wasn't as if Severus really had displayed all that much effort in terms of his son's development currently.

"I concur. He's really something," Orin said quietly, his eyes sparkling in the low light. He then handed the photo back towards Severus.

However, Eileen snatched it before her son had a chance to take it. Her eyes flicked down to the sonogram. The corners of her lips smoothed slightly.

"He's acceptable, I suppose," she remarked in a rather bored tone, holding the photo out a moment later.

"Such high praise, indeed, Eileen. We're so grateful that our son is deemed worthy in your eyes."

His mother rolled her eyes at Aurora before she took another sip of wine.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Orin asked.

"No. We've got a bit yet."

"Not that much, dear, judging by your current size," Eileen said snidely.

"Well, I am carrying _your_ grandson, dear sweet mother-in-law."

Severus glanced at his wife with a warning look. He was not going to have this turn into Whose-Is-Bigger, especially not when it was between his mother and wife.

"That you are." Eileen then pushed her salad towards her. "Eat that. All of it. And don't you even dare say you're full, because we both know you're just going to go home and eat cookies later."

"Hey, the baby likes his cookies."

"The baby . . . or you?"

"Mother, I'm warning you," Severus said quietly, giving her a look. This was like the time when he brought Evans over to his house when they were nine all over again. And people wondered why he wasn't close with his parents. This was why.

"Yeah, come on, El. Ya made yer point," Tobias said with a nervous chuckle. "The boy is plenty embarrassed now."

Severus glared at his wine glass. Why had he agreed to a dinner with his parents and her father again? It wasn't like he really had to obey _all_ of his wife's wishes. He could have let that one request slide and rode out the consequences for a bit.

"What was the professor like when he was growing up, if I may ask?" Harry asked as he and Draco shared a mischievous look with one another.

"Was he always such a bookworm back then, Mrs. Snape?" Draco asked, picking up where Harry left off.

"Now, what makes you think I'd reveal such private details about my son?" Eileen answered, much to Severus's surprise.

"Uh, well, it's just, um…" Eileen's not cooperating seemed to have thrown Harry for a moment.

"Just because you're the boy who vanquished Riddle finally, that doesn't mean I have to reveal such intimate details of my son's home life." Eileen then turned to Draco. "However, the answer to your question is yes. He always had his nose in a book growing up. It was the one thing we could provide for our son besides shelter, clothing, and food." She then tossed her napkin down. "Did he tell either of you that he won Felix Felicis once?" The pride swelled in her voice, as it usually did in terms of his achievements. "He was the only one out of the entire group of idiots to realize that Horace had given them a trick challenge. It never crossed any of their minds that the instructions in their textbooks could be wrong. They followed blindly like sheep. Look where that got them, hmm?"

Severus's left hand clenched around his glass instinctively.

"You were the one Professor Slughorn was referring to? You brewed the perfect Draught of Living Peace and won it?" Hermione whispered, staring at him.

His dark eyes narrowed on her before he caught Harry's badly hidden smile.

"Who else would it have been, Granger?" Draco drawled with a snort.

She turned her attention back to the blond. "Oh, what do you know anyway? You were too busy following in your father's footsteps," she snapped, causing a brief flicker of pain to flash across Draco's face. Her eyes then darted to Harry. "And you. I'll say it again! You cheated, and you know it. What's more is you used Professor Snape's old textbook to do it. You should've never won that potion."

"If I wouldn't have gotten that potion, then I never would have gotten Slughorn to open up about Riddle's secret, Hermione," Harry replied frowning.

"But you cheated!"

"You're just upset that someone beat you," Harry shot back. "Someone who wasn't Draco."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Oh dear god, I need a stronger drink," Eileen groaned.

"See what I have to deal with," Severus stated, giving his mother a pointed look.

"We," Aurora corrected quietly before taking a sip of her water. "What _we_ have to deal with."

He glanced at his wife and raised a brow. "You hardly ever had a problem with these … these monsters. In fact, you rather enjoyed chatting with the horrid brats. Learning what new moronic adolescent problem they were dealing with."

"Hey!" the kids yelled. "We're not monsters."

"Says three of the four brats who caused the majority of problems at Hogwarts," Severus quipped. "Miss Lovegood is the only… tolerable student in that place. It will be a sad day when she leaves us." Luna smiled brightly at him before she glanced away, clearly happy with herself.

"You won't miss me, sir?" Harry asked.

Severus snorted, hearing the lightheartedness in Harry's voice. "Hardly, Potter. Once you leave us, I'm planning to throw a very large party, likely even partake in some frivolities as well."

"Like what?" Aurora asked in disbelief.

"Perhaps I'll snog you in front of all our coworkers. Or… or I'll sing from the ramparts." He heard several snickers from around the table instantly.

"Speaking of public displays of intercourse," Eileen suddenly announced much too loudly for Severus's liking. He was starting to wonder if his mother's main goal in life now was to give him a mental breakdown. He certainly wouldn't put it past the old witch at this point. "I'm thrilled to be having a grandson, of course," she said with a beaming smile and dramatic hand wave, "but I expect my next grandchild to be a girl. Is this understood? You'll practice it until you get it right."

Severus groaned inwardly and closed his eyes. He heard Aurora quickly say something next to him. Probably attempting to explain to his mother that reproduction just didn't work that way, he assumed. Not that it would do any good. His mother was a lunatic after all. Certifiably. Was this really what the rest of his life would be like now? One embarrassment after another?

Reopening his eyes a moment later, he caught Miss Lovegood's silvery gray eyes, and she smiled good naturedly at him with a certain . . . fondness (perhaps?) that he wasn't used to seeing directed his way. Her eyes slid towards Harry then, and his own followed. The Boy-Who-Lived-to-Annoy-Him seemed to be trying hard not to laugh. When emerald met obsidian met, though, Severus saw understanding and kindness in Harry's eyes. Person by person, his eyes moved down the table. Each unique pair held a certain feeling he wasn't familiar with seeing from others when it came to him.

Maybe he could get used to spending the rest of his life like this.

"In fact, your father and I would be more than happy to offer you some pointers, _dears_."

Severus groaned loudly, just barely keeping himself from letting his head hit the table. Ugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what'd you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	23. A New Dawn at Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for still following this fic and leaving me with such warm comments. I truly appreciate it. This is the second to last chapter, and I couldn't have done any of this without all of you wonderful readers encouraging me and sticking with me. Enjoy.

The day after Valentine's Day, Severus walked up the curved staircase to the left of his desk in the headmaster's office. He could hear the excitement from the former headmasters' and headmistresses' portraits reverberate all around him, the fervent whispers of congratulations. He merely shook his head and did his best to ignore them. Was there really nothing he could keep secret from this damn castle?

"No. There really isn't much you can hide from us anymore at this point," Phineas Nigellus replied in his portrait down below. "We know all, Headmaster."

"Well, we'll see about that," Severus mumbled. Being the expert Occlumens he was, he had managed to fool the Dark Lord for decades. Therefore, fooling a castle would surely be a piece of cake for him after that.

"Oh, you silly boy," one of the former headmistresses said with a laugh. "How little you know, Headmaster. Not even your Occlumency can prevent our connection now. You better just accept it, dear. We're here to stay."

"Insufferable portraits," he huffed with a shake of his head, walking across the landing towards the door that led to his rooms.

When the door swung open on its own a moment later, he bit back a sigh of annoyance. That was the fifth door that day the damn castle opened for him. "I can open the door myself, thank you," he grumpily called out.

"We know," several portraits yelled back, sounding entirely too happy for Severus's liking.

He stepped inside his rooms a moment later, closing the door behind him. He removed his long outer robes then, placing them on the hook beside the door. The sound of silence caused him to frown slightly. He would have thought he'd have heard Aurora at least moving about their rooms.

"She's in the nursery, Headmaster," Salazar announced from his portrait above the mantel.

Severus's eyes darted to the founder's portrait at once. She was in the nursery? Why? He then shook his head and tugged on his long black sleeves prior to heading there. He found the nursery door ajar and glanced in, finding Aurora sitting in the rocking chair reading the _Daily Prophet_.

"Anything interesting in there today?" he asked quietly, careful not to frighten her.

She folded the paper down so she could look over it at him for a moment and shrugged. "You tell me." She then cleared her throat before she read aloud. "Wearing an elegant Rodrick Taylor dress robes while still looking fifteen years old, Headmaster Severus Snape was seen escorting his younger six-or-seventh-month pregnant wife, Aurora Sinistra, to Diamonds restaurant in London for their Valentine's dinner date. Always the gentleman, Headmaster Snape later in the night offered his jacket to her when they went on a late night stroll through the nearby gardens under a perfect starry night sky."

"You've got to be kidding me," he cut in with a loud groan. He caught her soft laugh instantly.

"Just wait. It gets better." She then continued reading the article as he approached her chair. "You won't hear it from me, of course, but rumor has it that a certain lucky woman stole a kiss from the stoic headmaster over by the colorful fountains."

His hand jerked instantly, bumping against the small end table. Was _nothing_ sacred anymore? "That's it. We are never going out ever again!" he declared. He caught his wife's sudden glance at him and frowned when he saw her disbelief. "I mean it, Aurora. We are never going anywhere again!"

"Why? Because some reporter saw us at dinner?" She gave a soft laugh, shaking her head. "You know, I love you, Severus, but there is no way we could do that again. Live our lives in secret, hidden away from the world. Once was more than enough. Don't you think?"

"It's not just the dinner," he argued. "We were followed. And they printed a private moment between us for all to read. For the world to read, Aurora!"

"It sucks. I agree, but all it revealed was that we went to dinner, had a leisurely stroll through the gardens, and kissed. Hardly something—"

"But it was a private moment! That's like . . . like them knowing we had consummated our marriage, Aurora."

She blinked before she burst out laughing, her hand moving to her swollen belly. "Pretty sure everyone knows that answer at this point, love."

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?" she said barely containing her amusement.

His frown deepened as he noticed her flippantness to the whole situation. "This week it is our dinner that interests them. Next week, it could be—"

"It could be something else next week. I know. But we can't just put our lives on hold again because some reporter caught us having a husband and wife moment, Severus."

"You don't understand," he said bitterly. Then again, how could she without his explaining it?

"So, enlighten me." She leaned forward towards him, giving him her full attention. The seriousness in her face had replaced her earlier playfulness.

He shook his head, though. No. It was better if he didn't explain it to her. There was, after all, no reason to darken her doorstep with his baggage. "If you have no qualms with it, then—"

"You know, pouting isn't a good look on you," she remarked quietly, crossing her arms as she stared back at him. The playfulness had returned.

"I'm not pouting," he spat back.

"Oh, heavens, Severus," she drawled. "Do you _honestly_ want to play this game?"

"Excuse me?" he replied, slightly taken aback for a moment.

"Okay. Fine. I'll play." She then shrugged and sighed. "So, to most people, when your eyes narrow like that, they'd think you were just glaring at them. Only I see the way the corners of your mouth come down just a bit and the way your bottom lip—yes, _that_ lip, Severus—sticks out just a trace. And then we have your arms crossed . . . just like that. And that, my love, is a Severus Snape pout."

His arms fell to his side the moment she mentioned that they were crossed. He blinked several times, staring at his wife like she was some foreign object he had never encountered before. Which wasn't far from the truth actually. She was never this . . .

"You've clearly spent too much time around my mother these past few weeks," he remarked quietly, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're not to see her again until after the baby is born."

"Or what? You'll ground me?" She laughed, rolling her eyes. "And there's nothing wrong with my spending time with your mother. I mean, she's certainly battier than Sybill, not to mention she has her moments of downright viciousness, but she is _your_ mother."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled. If he had to do it all over again, he'd have told her that he was adopted and never introduced them to one another. When he felt Aurora's hand on his a moment later, he glanced at her.

"She loves you, Severus. She would kill for you; hell, at this point, I'm betting she has at some point. So, don't be like that. Don't be all 'I wish I never had a mother.' Because, trust me here, I would beat you every time in Whose-Mother-Is-Worse." She then sighed quietly and shrugged. "Not that it matters much anymore, though, considering."

He closed his eyes briefly, allowing the silence to fall around them. There were no words he could say that would heal those wounds. She was right, however. Eileen, for all her faults, did truly love him with all her heart. The constant embarrass-inducing care packages she would send him annually at the start of the year could attest to that.

His mind wandered for half a minute to the memory of the one and only time he had ever met Aurora's mother. He knew that day that Aurora and Syra had a turbulent mother-daughter relationship. But having been in her life for three years now, he still couldn't understand it.

" _And just who are you exactly and what reason do you have to being in our daughter's rooms currently?" hissed the blonde witch coldly as she stood next to her husband. Her icy blue eyes narrowed like daggers onto Severus as he stood off to the side in Aurora's sitting area at Hogwarts._

" _As much as I love you intruding and ruining a perfectly good day, Mother," Aurora cut in lazily, "just get on with it already, so I can finish my conversation with Severus."_

_He had noticed Syra rear back minutely at the mentioning of his name before her jaw clenched even tighter. Clearly, she had heard about him before, which he hadn't had the pleasure of having heard in reverse. Aurora's father only closed his eyes in response and held back a sigh. This sort of greeting between them appeared to be a normal thing, it seemed._

" _So, you're the filthy Death Eater she raves about." Syra made a sort of 'hmph' noise as her eyes passed over him before she scoffed. To her left, Aurora looked ready to hex her. "I see nothing spectacular about you. You're just another worthless excuse of a wizard," she said nastily. "Like all the rest of them."_

" _Take. That. Back. Now, Mother!" Aurora snarled, her eyes darkening as her fingers curled around her wand slowly._

_Syra glanced towards her daughter briefly before whirling around and throwing her hand back towards Aurora. "Orin, deal with your daughter. Will you?" She then held her head up a bit higher. "The girl listens to you more."_

" _Gee. I wonder why that is," Aurora snapped. "Maybe because you're a goddamn bitch who wouldn't know her arse from her head!" Severus caught Orin's curt headshake towards Aurora to tell her that was enough. "And you know what? You know who's worthless? YOU ARE, MOTHER!" she yelled after her. "It's why they kicked you out of St. Mungo's all those years ago. Because—"_

_Syra had whirled around and returned so quickly to stand just in front of her daughter that Severus had wondered if she had Apparated there for a moment. "They, as you so eloquently put it, 'kicked me out' of St. Mungo's because of you, you pathetic child!" Syra hissed, her finger pointing at her daughter. "But, please, do continue spouting off your ridiculous theories. I do so enjoy watching your stupidity unfold for all to see." Mother and daughter death glared one another for several minutes before Syra continued. "If you would just obey me for once in your life instead of rebel like some absurd adolescent, you would see that I am not the enemy here." She then pointed at Severus. "He and his kind are." She scoffed a moment later, though. "But, of course not. I forget. You enjoy being their little plaything that they take turns screwing."_

"Severus?" his wife's voice said hesitantly, quickly pulling him out of the memory.

He glanced at her, noticing her concerned look instantly.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly.

"Yes. Just . . . recalling something."

"Like what?"

He forced a smile. There was no way in hell he was going to admit that he had recalled his first meeting of her parents. That would open up a whole new can of worms that he had no intention of ever opening, especially not when she was pregnant.

"Oh," Aurora said quietly. She folded her hands neatly in her lap and looked down. "You don't . . . Severus, you don't need to feel sorry for me." Her eyes briefly met his, a look of sadness behind her eyes. "I'm all right. I mean, it's not like I didn't know this day was coming at all. All I ever was to her was a disappointment. Something she pointed out every chance she could get. Frankly, I'm surprised she didn't leave earlier."

He winced inwardly. His silence, unfortunately, always made her think the worst.

"It's not that," he admitted with a sigh. "I was recalling your mother, yes, but more so our first meeting of one another."

"So, you don't think I'm having trouble dealing with my mother disappearing and leaving Dad?"

He stared at her for a moment. There was no right answer for that. Had he thought of that right then? No. But he had thought of it other times, though, after Orin had told her that her parents had split.

"Because that's not why I came in here today, if that's what you're thinking," she added, holding a hand up. "I came in here, because I was showing our son where he's going to sleep after he's born. Sort of giving him a tour of the place since it's been awhile since you and I've lived in the headmaster's private rooms. And then I sat down in the chair and was reading the _Prophet_ before you showed up. Specifically reading about Albus's trial, I admit."

She was rambling. Even she knew that, he would imagine. But he couldn't think of anything to say. So, his silence continued, as did her rambling.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, Severus. I have been having some feelings about it, sure, but I'm dealing with them." When he still didn't speak, hurt flashed across her face. "You don't believe me, do you? It's the truth, though. I am dealing with it. Ask your mother. We've been speaking about it somewhat on our little outings together. Her bedside manner is nowhere near Poppy's, but she listens and offers advice. Or rather, criticisms in her case."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. He wondered if it was because he was afraid that if he spoke, she wouldn't get everything she needed to say out.

"I've been talking to Dad, too, Severus," she pointed out, oblivious to his difficulty speaking. "But your mother is right, though. So what if Syra never returns? There's nothing I can do to fix that. She made the choice to leave. Not me. And nothing I say or do is going to make her come back. So, it's best to leave her in the past and focus on our bright future… on our family." She then finally glanced at him. "See? I'm good, Severus. I'm not going to have another major breakdown. No temporary hold at St. Mungo's for me this time. I'm good. I am." She gave a soft laugh, her hand on her belly. "How could I not be when I have you and the baby?"

"It's perfectly acceptable to feel saddened by this, Aurora," he pointed out.

She, however, laughed shortly and shook her head. "You sounded just like Eileen there. I know it's all right. I just am choosing to focus on our future instead. On the good." She then motioned towards the paper. "Like how I've softened the usually bitter old bat of the dungeons," she teased.

"I'm not bitter," he argued with a frown. Was that really what others were saying about him nowadays? That he had been bitter all these years?

"Of course that would be the part you'd object to," she said with a laugh. "Not the old bat part."

He crossed his arms instantly. "I worked very hard on maintaining that image, thank you."

"Why, though?" she asked seriously. "I get the whole pushing people away thing and being generally an arse, but why did you make yourself resemble a bat of all things?"

Cocking his head to the side for a moment, he looked at her strangely. He had thought it was obvious. Clearly, it was not, though, if she had to ask.

"I really enjoyed reading the _Batman_ comics when I was growing up." He caught her surprise at once followed by a blink of confusion.

" _Batman?_ " Her eyes narrowed on him. "That's a Muggle thing, isn't it?"

He couldn't help but laugh as he nodded. "Yes. Someday I'll have to show you my collection."

"You mean, you don't only collect dead bugs, animal parts, and books for fun but other things, too? Oh dear. That might be a deal breaker, love."

He snorted. "Says the woman who has her star charts littered about our rooms."

"It's better than pickled fire crabs," she shot back with a shrug.

"You don't pickle fire crabs," he started to correct. "It would ruin the—" He stopped in mid-sentence when he caught her amused smile. He should've known she was teasing him. She usually did when it came to his 'second love,' as she called it. He huffed, turning to glance out a nearby window. One of these days, he would learn.

"So, how'd things go with Poppy today anyway?" she asked a few moments later.

He shrugged, glancing back at her. A part of him wished she would have forgotten entirely about his session with the matron today. "She's rescinded my leave of absence and declared I'm physically and mentally able to return to my duties." He then quietly added, "If I want to return to them."

Her face lit up instantly. "That's wonderful, Severus."

He sighed, though, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't quite so certain it was.

She then sighed, obviously noticing his reaction. "Okay, so, why am I the only one happy about this?" she asked quietly, her eyes watching his every move.

"Because you are," he replied just as quietly.

"This is your chance to be the headmaster you want to be. To make the changes it needs. You didn't have that last year. You were too damned worried about the Dark Lord killing us all in our sleep."

"Yes, but—"

"No 'buts,' Severus." She sighed heavily. "You have a chance to make your mark on Hogwarts. To ensure your legacy among the greats. This is a good thing. I mean, if Hogwarts didn't believe in you, it never would have ignored Dumbledore as it had all this year. It wants you."

"But I'm enjoying our time together, Aurora," he admitted, the confession tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop it. He glanced away soon after. "I'm enjoying this newfound time we have together. Being with my family. If I return to my duties—" He frowned when she interrupted him yet again, much to his annoyance.

"None of that has to change, though." She then laughed softly, running a hand through her curls. "I may be pregnant, but I'm not an invalid. I can sit down in your office with you while you work. Read a book or something. Not for the meetings where they're private, of course, but all other meetings I can be there for if you want me to be."

He blinked. "You'd willingly sit in my office with me, while I conduct mediocre meetings that are sure to put you to sleep?" he asked, seemingly dumbfounded.

"Hey, when I took our vows and said 'for better or for worse,' I meant it."

"Obviously."

She snorted. "So, you can't use that as an excuse."

"What if I'm in a meeting and you go into labor, though?"

"Then you damn well better excuse yourself and get the hell out of that meeting to be at my bedside," she replied with a shrug.

"And if I don't?" he asked, meeting her eyes. Two could play that game, after all. He yelped instantly when he felt the sharp sting of her hex. "I see," he replied, rubbing the inside of his forearm. When she gently reached for his arm a moment later, he paused and glanced at her.

"I'm sorry, Severus," she said honestly.

He frowned in response. "For what?" What did she have to be sorry about now?

"I shouldn't have done that just now," she explained. "You . . ."

Groaning loudly, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Now, who was treating whom like glass? "Enough. There is a very large difference between your hex and what occurred in my past. So stop apologizing, you foolish woman. I know you do not wish to hurt me."

"But . . ." Her eyes then narrowed as her voice trailed off. "Severus, do you smell that?"

He sniffed the air and frowned. She was right. Something definitely reeked. He then turned around towards the door. At the sight of light smoke slowly filtering into the nursery, his eyes widened. Something was burning.

Stepping towards his wife, he wrapped his arms tightly around Aurora before he Disapparated them from the nursery. He'd leave the putting the fire out for the house elves to do.

* * *

Frowning inwardly, Severus listened half-heartedly to Minerva as she updated him on all the progress that had been made during his leave of absence. Not that he didn't know all of it already, though, seeing as how he had been at Hogwarts all year. As he sat in his office, he glanced down at his desk, wondering for half a moment if Minerva would even notice if he started to play with one of the objects on his desk. The things looked rather inviting today. But he supposed that was because of how long this meeting had been dragging on.

"The Aurors finally finished their investigation into the fire that occurred here last month," she suddenly declared.

He lifted his head up somewhat and glanced at her. "And?"

"It'd seem one of the candles was knocked over by something, so they've ruled it accidental." Minerva smiled politely. "Luckily for you, the house elves were rather quick at extinguishing it before it spread to the rest of the castle."

"Or the portraits," chimed in Phineas Nigellus with the same dark look he had been wearing ever since the fire occurred.

Severus frowned and glanced at the former Slytherin headmaster. "How many times must I apologize before you'll take my word for it?"

"Well, forgive us for not being so forgiving, considering you left all of us here to fend for ourselves," Phineas grumbled, crossing his arms in his portrait.

"Oh, give it a break, Phinny," one of the headmistress drawled from her portrait. "He was doing the responsible thing and ensuring his wife and unborn child were safe."

"We could've died!" Phineas cried.

"We're already dead!" several of them shouted back.

"If I may continue," Minerva cut in, glancing up at the portraits. When a few inclined their heads to her, she went on. "The workers on the memorial project wanted me to inform you that they believe they should be finished with it sometime later this month. They were wondering if you would like to light the eternal flame or if they should do it."

Severus knitted his fingers together and sighed. He glanced towards the portraits of his predecessors before he looked at his wife, finding her staring back at him as she sat in a puffy chair off to the side thumbing through a book. He sighed heavily when he realized none of them were going to help him with his decision.

"It would be purely symbolic if I were the one to light it." He heard several portraits make an indescribable noise at that.

"It would be, yes," Minerva agreed, her hands held behind her back.

"And they would likely want to make a production out of it then."

"Probably."

He glanced at Aurora and made a face. He disliked large group settings where he was the one under the spotlight.

"If I don't, however, it would be seen as me brushing off the pain and heartbreak of last year's events," he stated, wincing even more.

"Likely."

He groaned loudly, his shoulders slumping. Why had he decided to return to his duties again?

"You could ask Harry if he would want to be involved," Aurora softly said a moment later. His eyes darted to her. "I'm told that he was quite good at giving moving speeches."

"Do you think he would agree?" he asked.

His wife shrugged. "You'll never know if you don't ask."

He nodded, making a note to ask him later that day. He then turned back. "What else?"

"The final thing is concerning the students."

Scoffing, he rolled his eyes. "And just what did the little brats do this time?" He caught Minerva's slight flinch instantly and frowned.

"There have been ongoing issues with the Slytherin students this year."

"We knew that would occur," he drawled. "What sorts of issues are we referring to here?"

"Fights with other Houses. Duels in the corridors as well. Not to mention . . ." Minerva let her voice trail off before she sighed quietly. "There was an incident of vandalism to the Slytherin common room two months ago, I'm afraid."

"An incident," scoffed Phineas Nigellus. "What she means to say is one of her precious damn lions decided to drown our students by breaking a window in the common room, Headmaster."

"What?" Severus's head snapped towards Minerva. "Why am I just learning about this now?!"

"Because you were on a leave of absence," she stated sharply. "Therefore, I had no obligation to inform you. The student who committed such acts was promptly expelled, I assure you."

"Expelled for attempted murder," Phineas huffed. "Things still haven't changed much since James Potter and his group were here, hmm, Headmaster?"

"How many incidents have there been?" Severus asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"More than its share," Phineas chimed in before he went suddenly silent in response to Severus's deep glare directed at him.

"What sort of incidents do you mean?" Minerva then sighed and shook her head. "Frankly, there have been too many small ones to count. The most serious, however, was the breaking of the glass." She motioned towards his large pile of papers on his desk. "The incident reports are in that stack." She met his eyes then. "Potter and Malfoy have been doing their best to help us repair the rifts when they arise, but it's becoming a clear fire keg in some parts of the castle."

Severus stood up instantly, slightly horrified but more so outraged that it had taken this long for someone to do the obvious thing. "I want all students to be in the Great Hall in half an hour." He caught Minerva's surprise at once. "If one of the brats decides he or she is too good to be there and doesn't show up, expel them. Immediately. Is this understood?"

"Yes, Headmaster," Minerva replied, bowing her head respectfully. She didn't even wait for him to dismiss her before she turned and left the office.

"Please tell me you're not planning to hex them all," Aurora sighed, giving him a look.

"That depends solely on them," he replied quietly before stalking towards the door.

* * *

Severus stood in front of the head table as the students filed into the Great Hall. He assumed he looked as unhappy as he felt, but he frankly couldn't bring himself to care very much about that. He was not about to mollycoddle them for their bad behavior, unlike the others had in his absence. He hardly wanted this to be his first grand speech upon returning, but they'd left him no choice. If making the brats realize they couldn't kill each other meant he'd be remembered as the Headmaster who scared them shitless while deaged during his first official act, then so be it.

They looked more confused than terrified, he decided as the room filled. He'd be sure to clear things up for them in just a bit. When he felt someone step closer to him, he remained staring straight ahead at the students entering but leaned his ear towards the person near him.

"Please don't kill them, Severus," Aurora warned softly, her hand gently resting atop of his arm.

He snorted with a particularly dark look on his face. Don't kill the little brats? That was her advice for him? When he felt her gentle kiss against his cheek a moment later, he finally glanced from the students to her. She was ruining his act. Likely on purpose.

"Please join the rest of the staff, Professor," he stated tersely, feeling rather thankful when she complied a moment later and choosing to stand next to Minerva. His eyes then watched the very last student walk in and join the Hufflepuff table. He waved his hand at the doors a moment later, resulting in them slamming shut instantly. He caught the wave of jumps from the students.

He let the silence settle all around them before he glanced upwards at the House banners above the student tables. So much of what was going on was a result of age-old Hogwarts' traditions. He drew in a slow breath, sensing the students' fear increase.

"It's come to my attention that some of you believe we practice an eye for an eye philosophy here at Hogwarts." He gave a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "How fascinating." He then glanced upwards at the banners waving above again. When his eyes found the Slytherin one, he sneered before he turned his attention back to the students. "How truly fascinating it is that you believe that because of last year's events, Hogwarts has turned into a free-for-all nowadays where you can hex," he paused, his smile growing before he shrugged, "curse anyone you feel like." He then shook his head. "Do you know what this makes all of you? Anyone?" He let his eyes trail over the students for a bit. "No?" Not a single student, not even Miss Granger, moved. "This makes all of you who have participated in such actions over this past year no better than the Dark Lord himself." He caught the looks of horrors instantly and sneered. "By continuing to further the long-standing prejudices, you continue the violence and hatred the Dark Lord used to his advantage. Purebloods vs. half-bloods and Muggleborns is no different from your 'All Slytherins are evil' prejudices."

"But they are!" someone from Hufflepuff shouted.

His eyes narrowed on the young witch, grateful when she had at least the foresight to look ashamed a moment later.

"Tell me, Miss Laurens," he said, addressing the young Hufflepuff girl. "Do you find my wife to be evil? Or perhaps even Professor Slughorn?" When she glanced down and shook her head, he scoffed. "If you don't find them evil, then how can you claim to say that ALL Slytherins are?" He waited for someone to dispute it. None did. "Every last one of you are operating on the premise that the Dark Lord only recruited those from my own house, but this is a lie. He recruited from ALL houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." His eyes then glanced back up at the Slytherin banner. "There's not a witch or wizard in Slytherin who didn't go bad," Severus sneered, repeating the old phrase he had seen in Harry's mind during their failed Occlumency lessons. He scoffed. How little did they know?

"Peter Pettigrew . . . **Gryffindor** ," he said, listing off the names of traitors from the other Houses. "Ryan Douglass . . . **Ravenclaw**. Laurence Mortimer . . . **Hufflepuff**. Just because they didn't make themselves infamous doesn't mean they didn't exist." He grimaced, shaking his head and motioning up at the banners. "Foolish children. These Houses mean nothing. They're tools used to help professors keep track of you." He caught several of them glancing at one another. "The Dark Lord didn't give a damn what House you were in. He was going to murder all of you regardless once he had killed Potter for good. Let me assure you of that." He then rotated his wrist somewhat, his wand slipping into his hand suddenly. Without a word, he raised his wand up towards the banners, several students letting out a frightened gasp as he did. His wand then slashed violently at the House symbols. Pieces of maroon, emerald, navy, and gold rained down onto the students.

"They're meaningless symbols," Severus declared, "and now they are no more. So you're going to have to find another reason to kill one another, I'm afraid. But let me be absolutely clear with all of you little brats. If you attempt to kill another student here at Hogwarts, you will find yourself in Azkaban for attempted murder, not on the train home. Azkaban! I will not coddle murderers in my school. Is this understood?" His eyes swept over them instantly, glad to see that they all appeared to comprehend the seriousness. "Excellent. Now, go to your common rooms and remain there. If I hear that even one of you decided to go for a midnight stroll, no matter who you are, I will be more than content with sending you straight home. Tonight!" The students quickly filtered out of the Great Hall soon after.

Severus's eyes met his wife's a moment later. He knew what she was going to stay later when they were behind closed doors. 'They were just children.' But they weren't anymore, though. The Dark Lord had taken their innocence last year, returning it with bitterness and hatred. Their actions were a testament to that. If he treated them solely as if their actions meant nothing, then he ran the risk of another parent burying a child. And he didn't wish that on anyone.

"If a student disobeys my orders," Severus quietly said as he noticed the deputy headmistress approach, "send them to my office immediately, Minerva. I don't care what time it is." He then caught her green eyes. "Is this understood?" He would expel them, certainly, but he wouldn't write them off entirely, though. Education was still a priority for all students in his mind.

"Yes, Headmaster." She glanced at Aurora before she and the rest of the staff left the Great Hall.

He frowned deeply when it was just his wife and him in the hall. This was not going to go well.

"They have been coddled enough," he stated, hoping to end this argument before it even started. "I don't care if they are having trouble dealing with everything. Killing one another is not going to bring back their loved ones." He stopped speaking when he felt her hand caress his cheek and turned to her.

"I know. I was just going to say how proud I am of you." He leaned into her hand and closed his eyes, giving her palm a quick kiss. "You're going to be an amazing headmaster, Severus. I know it."

* * *

All was well at Hogwarts after he gave his now infamous impromptu lecture in the Great Hall. According to all reports he had seen from Minerva and Poppy, the students had surprisingly been listening to him that day and taken his threats seriously. Not one student had been involved in an altercation since that day. In fact, he had noticed on his walks with Aurora throughout the past month and a half that the students were frequently now overlooking what House someone belonged to and asking whomever was nearby to join in on various activities, whether that was Gobstones or Quidditch. He couldn't believe how well it was going, but Hogwarts kept him up to date on all the on-goings about the castle and maintained the truth of what was happening.

"Kingsley accepted," Aurora suddenly said next to him as she slowly approached his desk with an envelope in hand. He inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to grab his chest. Where the hell had she come from? "He won't speak, but he'll definitely attend the ceremony." She laid Kingsley's response in front of him. "So, that's, what, three hundred or so people we're up to now?"

"At least," he replied with a shrug. The memorial ceremony was growing more and more every day, it seemed. He glanced sideways at her and felt a slight pull at his lips. The ceremony wasn't the only thing that had grown a lot of over the past month. He gently rested a hand against her large belly, chuckling when he felt his unborn son kick against his hand a moment later. It wouldn't be long now before he would be able to hold him. A few weeks after the ceremony, Poppy had estimated.

"You might want to have a talk with him, by the way."

"Kingsley?" Severus asked, glancing up at her.

"No. Your son," she said with a soft laugh. "He's been doing a lot of backflips today, I think."

He nodded before he stood up and maneuvered her into his chair. At first, she resisted but she relented after he gave her a 'humor me' look. Slowly, he lowered himself to a knee, letting out a soft groan when his joints popped and cracked.

"Calm yourself, my little one," he whispered, hearing Aurora's soft laughs above him. "Otherwise, we'll both be in your mother's bad graces. And we don't want that, do we?" He smiled when he felt his son's responding gentle kick. "Good boy." He then glanced up at his wife. "Better?"

"It's acceptable," she replied teasingly, her fingers carding through his long hair lovingly. "We still need to discuss names, you know? We never finished that discussion."

"Anything but Severus will be fine."

"I was thinking Luke."

"What about Nathan instead?" He caught her scrunched up face instantly and sighed. This was going to go on forever.

She too then sighed. They had been over names a hundred times already and couldn't agree on one. "What about a compromise? Lucas? I can call him Luke for short."

"What could possibly have inspired you to call our son 'Luke?" He then caught her sudden movement as she raised her hand and resisted the urge to duck. When one of his comics came flying into her outstretched hand a moment later, he understood. "You're kidding."

"What? He grew up to be a strong individual with this . . . force thing guiding him. We have the force. We just call it magic instead."

Severus couldn't hold back the laughter. "I'll tell my father you said that." He then glanced down at the old _Star Wars_ comic and sighed. Luke Snape? He supposed it could be worse.

"Even your son likes the name Luke." He snorted and rolled his eyes. Sure he did. When he caught her arms encircling around his neck, he glanced back at her. "Are you going to tell me what you're working so hard on now?" His eyes narrowed before he glanced back at his desk.

"I was working on approving requisition orders."

"You know what I mean," she argued, her eyes meeting his. "You've been sneaking off and working on something in secret. Now, I want to know what it is."

So she had noticed that, had she? A part of him was disappointed hearing that. He had thought for certain he had kept it hidden from her this time, what with her being in charge of the memorial ceremony. He supposed it was time to let her in on it, though. Motioning for her to let him up, he stood up, helping her stand a moment later.

"Where are we going?"

"Our rooms," he answered, leading her up the curved staircase. He let her step into their rooms first before he led her to the nursery. He noticed her hesitation instantly and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. When he opened the nursery door a moment later and heard her sharp gasp, he knew she had seen it. "Your father provided the wood, which came from one of the trees at Windsor, I believe. And my father helped supervise the project, since I'm not used to building things by hand, whereas he is." He watched her slowly approach the handmade crib, her hand lightly brushing against the polished wood before tracing the cutout of a crescent moon and star.

His eyes narrowed as the silence dragged on. Why wasn't she saying anything? He then frowned. Did she hate it? Should he have bought one instead? Talked to his mother and asked if she still had his? With each passing moment, more questions bubbled up in his mind.

"Aurora?" Still, she did not respond. "Talk to me please." The second he saw her shoulders start to shake, he rushed over to her, pulling her into his arms. What on earth was going on with her? He hadn't meant for her to cry. He hated when she cried. When anyone cried for that matter. "I'm sorry, Aurora. Truly. I'll take it back tomorrow. Please. Please stop crying," he pleaded, rubbing gentle circles against her back. "I'm sorry."

"Severus . . . stop . . . that's not . . ." He could feel her chest expand and contract, hitching on the inhales as she struggled to contain her tears. He pulled back slowly and searched her eyes. "It's . . . I . . . thank you," she cried, burying her head back into his shoulder.

"I don't understand," he said quietly, holding her gently. He felt her half-laugh, half-sob against him and sighed, resting his head atop of hers. "Are these . . . happy tears?" She nodded, which made him frown. Women were so damn complicated. "I see."

"Thank you," she sniffled, her breathing still hitching every now and then. "It's so beautiful. So . . ." Her voice broke as she started to fall to her knees, only stopped by his arms holding her upright.

A surge of fear rushed through his veins. Something was wrong. There was overly emotional, and then there was this, whatever _this_ was. He picked her up, grimacing when he felt the brief pain in his scar as a result of his actions. He then turned on his spot, Disapparating them to the hospital wing.

The moment they appeared, he yelled out, "Pomfrey!" He heard the matron bustling out of her office at once, as he gently set his wife down onto the nearest cot. He brushed aside a curl that had fallen onto her face, noting that Aurora was now deathly pale with her eyes closed.

"Goodness gracious, Headmaster. I'm not a dog you can call at your beck and—" She went into pure matron mode when she noticed Aurora lying on the cot. "What's happened to her?"

"I don't know," he replied, his voice rising just a bit out of utter frustration. "That's why I brought her to you, Madam!" He then caught sight of Pomfrey's wand trailing over Aurora and felt himself slowly become calmer. She would fix it. She would make everything all better again. All would be well once more. "One moment we were talking. The next she became hysterical," he stated, his voice shaking just a bit. It would be fine. His dreams of late meant nothing. Everything would be fine soon.

"Hysterical how?" Pomfrey inquired, her head snapping up to look at him.

"She started crying, carrying on and such over the stupid crib." Why wasn't Pomfrey doing anything yet? His eyes remained on Aurora, noticing the color fade even more from her face. "What's wrong with her?!" he demanded, grabbing Pomfrey's wrist when she didn't move. Poppy's eyes told him everything he needed to know a moment later. He had been right. Something was wrong.

"I'm going to need you to wait in my office. Now, Headmaster!" The matron's tone gave no mistake to the seriousness.

How was this possible? Everything was fine just a few minutes ago. How could everything have come so undone in such a small time frame? When he felt Pomfrey push him none too lightly towards her office, he stumbled backwards before he saw Pomfrey snap the curtains shut around Aurora's bed and erect a privacy spell around it. Only then did he do as she ordered. There was nothing he could do for Aurora right now. Even he knew it. It didn't make it any easier, though.

Numbly, he reached Pomfrey's office, collapsing into a nearby chair. His hands covered his face soon after as he drew in shaky breaths. What had he done this time to deserve this? He had done everything right, hadn't he? He had made amends with the majority of those whom he had hurt over the years. So, why was this happening?

"Professor Snape," a surprised voice suddenly called out somewhere near the door. The voice then lowered into a gentle, concerned tone. "Is everything all right, sir?"

Severus honestly didn't know how to answer that question.

"What's going on?" Harry asked again. "Is something wrong with the professor?"

Severus still couldn't bring himself to respond to his questions. So, he chose instead to change the subject. It was a distraction, but one he needed as he glanced towards the door waiting for any word.

"Why are you here, Potter? Don't you have class?"

The young man shrugged, slightly dragging his foot along the floor. "Yeah. I've got Defense, but I needed to speak with Madam Pomfrey, though."

Severus's eyes narrowed on him. The boy needed to speak with Pomfrey? Why? His eyes moved over the young man, habitually checking him over for any injuries. He saw none, though, which led him to believe it had to do with Harry's mental state. Not that he would ever blame the poor child for having such difficulties. Not after everything Harry had gone through in his short amount of life. Events that had been thrust upon him by Dumbledore, the puppet master of all. Severus shook his head, though, removing those thoughts. Anger wouldn't help here. "Are you still worried about others' reactions to your growing relationship with Miss Lovegood?"

Harry blinked before he shook his head, clearly fighting back a smile. "No. That's not it. I, well, um, everyone has been really cool about it so far actually."

"Then why do you need to speak with Pomfrey?"

Hanging his head then, Harry sighed. "It's stupid, but I've got a headache this morning."

"A headache?" Severus repeated slowly, clearly not believing him.

"Yeah." Harry noticed then his look and quickly added, "Not like before, though, sir. It's just something that's come and gone since last year. She thinks it's some sort of side effect from my nearly dying. Nothing serious, though."

Nothing serious? A headache that came and went for him since last year was deemed 'Nothing serious?' He resisted the urge of hitting the young man upside the head.

"A headache relieving potion helps, so that's why I'm here. To get one from her." Harry's hand then came up. "I know what you're going to say, sir. But I promise that I'm not addicted to them."

Opening his mouth to speak, Severus went silent once he felt a strange feeling sweep over him. His head snapped back towards the wall that blocked him from seeing what was going on out there. He should be there at his wife's side, not in here with Potter.

"She knows about her mum, doesn't she?" Harry asked quietly a minute later.

Severus's head snapped upwards, his eyes darting to the young man. "What?"

"The _Prophet's_ reporting that the Aurors found her mother earlier. Here." Harry then dug into his robes before he pulled out the badly folded up newspaper. "Read it for yourself, sir."

His eyes skimmed the front-page article, his heart dropping with each word. " _. . . found earlier this morning outside of a forest near Sussex. Aurors have ruled her death to be accidental . . ."_ Syra was dead? He shook his head slowly, rubbing at his temple. It didn't make sense. Why would her mother's death affect her so much? She positively hated the woman. And for good reason, he thought.

"Baron," he called out, knowing the House ghosts were sure to be nearby. When he saw the ghost appear soon after, Severus drew in a slow breath, dreading the answer to his own question. "Did Aurora know about her mother's death?"

"Yes," the Baron replied. "But this has nothing to do with her mother's death, however."

"Then what? What's wrong with my wife?" Severus demanded, forcing himself to his feet. "Tell me, Baron." The sounds of a newborn crying loudly, however, gave him his answer. He whirled around before he brushed past Harry and into the main area of the hospital wing.

"Stop right there, young man," Pomfrey ordered in her usual no-nonsense tone, pointing a finger at Severus as her wand moved over the crying newborn.

"Is that . . .?" He stared at the bloodied baby boy, barely breathing.

"Your son?" the matron offered with a faint smile, finally looking up at him. "He is."

Severus's eyes darted to his wife, finding her now wearing a surgical gown with her hands at her sides. He pushed back the eerily similar memory of finding her in a similar pose last year.

"Aurora is fine as well, Headmaster. She's resting currently."

"I . . . I don't understand. She wasn't due yet." She had, in fact, several more weeks to go.

"Yes, well, your son seemed to disagree," Pomfrey said with a laugh. She then wordlessly vanished all the filth that had been covering the newborn with a simple wave of her wand. "And, in perfect hindsight now, I should've known that he'd be a troublemaker, considering whom his father is."

Harry snickered next to Severus. Whom was she calling a troublemaker? Surely not him?

"Was Aurora complaining of cramping today? Perhaps even a little more kicking than usual?"

"Yes." His eyes narrowed on her. "She was saying he was kicking her a lot more. Why?"

"Well, far be it from me to speculate, but I would imagine that she was also having cramps today as well. Normally, a few cramps here and there aren't necessarily anything to bat an eye over."

"But this was?"

Pomfrey nodded slowly, her smile softening slightly. "Unfortunately, with the amount of trauma she's undergone over the years and certain genetic factors, she was at a high risk for premature labor. It's why I increased her sessions with me these past few months." The matron then shrugged somewhat. "This, as sad as it is to admit, was the longest she's ever been pregnant before."

Severus remained quiet for a bit as he let that sink in. She had been so close to a normal pregnancy this time, just a few weeks shy of it.

"Our son is healthy, though?" he asked, glancing back towards the newborn.

"He is. In fact, as I'm sure you heard earlier, he has quite the pair of lungs on him actually." She then gently picked the rosy pink newborn up. "Would you like you to hold your son, Headmaster?"

He nodded numbly, listening to her directions on where to put his hands before he glanced down at the small babe. Faintly, he felt Harry step closer to get a look as well and heard a soft 'Congrats' from the young man. Severus, however, said nothing as he stared down at the little boy in his hands. Cupping his son's head tenderly, he smiled faintly down at him. "Hello, Luke," he whispered, careful not to scare the poor thing. "I'm your father." He chuckled when his son yawned. "The bloody bat of the dungeons."


	24. Rising from the Ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end of this story. For some of you, I know that you'll likely be disappointed as I clearly overpromised on including many scenes with Harry/Luna and Draco/Hermione. I apologize for this. Like always, the best intentions end up going awry. When I started this fic many moons ago, I had this amazing idea to show a different way of thinking on how things ended, showing the severe emotional scars that everyone felt and the effects of these events. However, as I continued, my plot bunnies started to go awry, and I lost my way for a bit before I went under a much-needed rewrite to regain my focus for this story. While this story did not include nearly enough Harry/Luna and Draco/Hermione and the effects of the war on their relationships and themselves, I did do this for Severus/Aurora, who is my main and primary pairing. I'll cut this short before I bore you all to tears. To those of you who have stuck with me through this all, thank you. I truly appreciate each and every single one of you for giving me the energy needed in order to complete this story. I made a promise long ago when I started writing that I would finish every fic I started, and I'm glad to see that I was able to keep that promise with this fic. Thank you for reading.

Leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed as he wore his elegant dress robes, Severus watched his wife brush through her curls as she finished getting ready. At the sounds of soft noises coming from Aurora's right, though, both parents glanced at the crib.

"Well, look who woke up finally," Aurora teased, oblivious to Severus watching her. Setting her brush down on the nearby counter next to the _Prophet_ that had the headline "Fallen from Grace" with a photo of a remorseful Albus Dumbledore in Azkaban, she gently walked over to their son's crib and picked him up. She smiled down at the young infant, cradling his head tenderly. "How was your nap, love? All ten minutes of it," she said with a laugh. When Luke grabbed a bit of her hair that had been swinging near him and tugged hard a moment later, she let out a muffled pain cry. "Okay, love, you've made your point. Mummy won't bring it up again, since it's obviously a touchy subject." Luke giggled instantly. "Daddy's boy," she drawled, the laughter heard in her voice.

Severus took that moment to announce his presence. "You say that as if there is something wrong with him being my son, Aurora?" He gave her a faint smile when she turned around towards him.

"Not at all," she replied honestly. A moment later, she handed Luke carefully over to his father. "By the way, your potion sort of sucks, Severus." Her wrinkles had returned now, but her wide smile deepened them just enough to give her a youthful look again.

He frowned instantly. She was not going to let him live that down ever. How was he supposed to know that the boysenberries had been contaminated before he had purchased them? He wasn't a Seer!

"It's a good thing our covers were blown long ago," she continued. "Otherwise, this would have been awkward."

"Yes, because you never make mistakes," he replied moodily, "ever."

"You're right. I don't, because I'm perfect." She gave a slight head shake to make her hair flourish out dramatically before she burst out laughing.

"Says the woman who left our son unattended in our rooms," he pointed out.

"That was one time!"

"So was this," he declared forcefully. "And, for the record, had it not been for the boysenberries having been expired, it was a perfect potion."

"That would have crapped out on us two months prior to the end of the school year," she stated.

"What does this even matter anyway? You never turned in your paper as it was. So there."

Luke kept watching his parents as if attending a tennis match.

"You always have to be the last one, don't you?" she asked in a rather bored tone.

"Of course. How else am I to win?" he drawled.

"Winning isn't everything, my dear husband."

"It helped me win you," he said cockily with a shrug.

"Because you cheated and sabotaged all of my dates!"

"Not all of them. Just most. And they weren't good enough for you. You deserved better."

"Says you," she drawled. "I could've been the wife to the Minister of Magic. But, no, instead, I'm married to the headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Ah-ha. I knew it!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "You _are_ an ambitious snake, forked tongue and all."

"Well, I have to keep up with my husband somehow."

Severus snorted, glancing down at his son. When he caught Luke fast asleep again, he shook his head and sighed. That would work wonders on his self-esteem, knowing that his playful banter with Aurora would put their son fast asleep.

"Is he out again?" Aurora asked quietly.

"Unfortunately," he replied.

"I wonder if it'll be another fifteen minute nap like last time."

Fifteen minute naps for an infant, however, were sure to kill them, he had decided long ago. Why on earth had he wanted to have children again? When Luke brushed up against his sleeve a moment later and quickly turned his head to suckle on it, the new father silently chuckled. His son was certainly adorable on second thought. His eyes then swept over to his wife, finally noticing the floor-length emerald dress she was wearing.

"Absolutely exquisite," he remarked, his smile deepening as she glanced down with red cheeks.

"Seems like you can teach an old dog new tricks," she said with a laugh, meeting his eyes.

He shrugged. "You may have had a perfectly valid theory when you claimed in your paper that if given a second chance in one's past, one is able to correct himself enough to alter the things that have been so deeply engrained into his well-being over time."

"In other words, your alter ego Toby rubbed off on you."

"Yes." His explanation was much more elegantly worded, he thought.

"Well, you're not the only one. Celes certainly made an impact on me as well." Her eyes then glanced down at their son. "We should get going," she said quietly.

"Just a moment," he replied, glancing down at their son as well. He thought for a second about handing Luke back to Aurora before he decided instead to set their son back into his crib.

"Severus?"

"Just a moment, please." Once Luke was back in his crib, Severus dug into his pocket, pulling out two small silver wedding rings. He held out his own wedding band to her. "Seems a shame since we are now back to our correct ages that these are not on our fingers yet, doesn't it?" He caught her smile instantly and held his left hand out to her, waiting as she slid his simple silver wedding band into place. He then did the same to her, the silver snake adorned in emeralds sliding up her left ring finger tenderly. Once her wedding ring was back on her finger, he let out a content sigh before noticing her look. "What? I wasn't about to let you go out there looking like that without our wedding rings on."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Actually, I was thinking that it was about time we started wearing our rings again." She then leaned back over their son's crib and picked him up.

"You fed him earlier, didn't you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing on Luke who slowly woke up.

"Of course I did. And I've got some bottles for later in the bag on the counter. Why?"

"Just wondering." One worry down, a hundred more to go. They left for the door soon after, Severus pausing for only a moment to grab the overstuffed bag full of everything he hoped they'd need.

* * *

As they stood near the white marble obelisk, Severus caught Aurora's hand gently running over a name. He resituated Luke in his arms and stepped closer to her.

"You added her," Aurora whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

"It didn't feel right not to," he replied. "Our daughter was one of the fallen after all." He watched his wife draw in a shaky breath before she closed her eyes, her fingers resting against their daughter's etched-in name. She then pulled back a moment later, glancing at him through unshed tears.

"Thank you."

He nodded stiffly, following her towards their parents who stood off to the side near a row of white chairs for the spectators.

"All right there, lovely?" Tobias asked her kindly, giving his son a confused look.

Aurora dabbed at her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm fine." She then forced a polite smile at Eileen, who watched her with a look Severus couldn't identify.

Sighing a moment later, Eileen turned away to turn her attention onto her son. "You're late."

"You may blame your grandson for that, Mother, as he seemed to believe that screaming murder while going through a security line full of Aurors is the appropriate thing to do," Severus drawled.

Eileen waved away his excuse, though, holding her hands out towards her grandson. "Well, let me have him already, will you?" she said sharply. "Honestly. How is a grandmother supposed to spoil her first of many grandchildren when his father won't release him?"

"Actually, Eileen, I believe you had your turn already," Orin said, cutting in a moment later with his arms outstretched towards the young infant. "So, it's my turn."

Severus frowned, giving a quick look at Aurora. And so it began. Grandparents fighting over whose turn it was.

"I beg your pardon?" Eileen replied, rather outraged. "Just what exactly gives you the right to hold my grandson? Hmm?" She crossed her arms, giving Orin a hard look. "And don't say it's because of your daughter, because I assure you, spreading your legs for a man is hardly an accomplishment."

"You got old again, son," Tobias remarked quietly, seemingly ignoring his wife and Orin fighting over Luke. He then gave a cheeky grin to Aurora. "You, lovely, haven't aged a day. Still as gorgeous and youthful as ever. What are ya again, twenty-five?"

Aurora laughed softly, rolling her eyes. "Always the flirt, aren't you, Tobias?"

"Well, someone's got to be in this family, and it sure as hell ain't Severus," Tobias replied, as he stepped closer to her and gave her a quick kiss to her cheek. He then stepped back and jerked his head towards the memorial. "Hope it helps heal the wounds here, give everyone a sense of closure. Though, the way I been readin', it seems you been doin' that pretty well by yerself, son."

"I did what anyone would, given the circumstances," Severus said quietly.

"Eh, not so sure makin' yerselves younger again is what others would do, but," Tobias shrugged, "whatever floats yer boat."

Severus groaned inwardly. "I meant after I returned—"

Tobias chuckled loudly, holding a hand up. "I know what ya meant, son. Jeez. I see, ya didn't get yer sense of humor back." He then glanced at Aurora. "Sure ya want to be married to this guy the rest of yer life, beautiful?"

Aurora smiled back, her eyes sparkling radiantly. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Tobias."

He chuckled again before he glanced at Eileen and Orin, who were still bickering. "They'll be at this all night for certain."

Taking a step towards his father, Severus decided right then who would be holding Luke during the ceremony. "How about you watch him for us, Dad?" he asked quietly, catching his father's surprise instantly. "You're the only one here who isn't going mad over him after all."

Nodding excitedly, Tobias carefully grabbed him out of his son's hands, resting the small infant against his shoulder a moment later. "Ain't you a looker, Luke?" He then laughed and shook his head, as Eileen and Orin turned and noticed Luke in Tobias's arms with matching frowns. "Grandpa's gonna have to show ya all the ways to break the ladies' hearts when yer older, ain't he?" When Luke yawned and made a soft adorable noise, Tobias snorted. "On second thought, yer a natural, obviously. Get that from yer mum . . . and maybe yer daddy, too, if ya believe the things the girls have been sayin' lately."

Severus blinked. "What?"

"Well, not to gossip or nothin', but some of the girls at yer school have been tellin' that newspaper of yers all about how yer—what were the words again—sex god or somethin' bein' all young and stuff? That if Rora wouldn't have been here with ya, that they might have made their move. Course, that was all before they figured out who ya really were."

Craning his head to the side, Severus winced, feeling his stomach roll. The idea of students lusting after him like a piece of meat was so unsettling. His eyes then caught the sudden movement to his left, causing him to glance towards the couple.

"Hello, Headmaster," Harry said to him before he turned to Aurora, "Professor." The young man wore a simple black suit with a navy tie to match Luna's dress, Severus noted idly.

Luna smiled at both of them in return as she held Harry's hand silently. Her dress was sky blue at the top and feathered out, becoming a darker shade of blue the further down it went.

"How are you, Mister Potter, Miss Lovegood?" Severus asked politely.

"Good," Harry replied. "Um, Luna told me about some plant or something, and I've been headache-free since, well, since a day after Luke was born, I guess."

Severus glanced at the young Ravenclaw. A plant had cured Potter of his headaches?

"It's nothing sinister, sir," Luna said softly. "Only Cazera extracts. Which I give to him as needed with his morning tea." She beamed brightly. "The extracts actually have been doing quite nicely, Madam Pomfrey says. His scars are starting to heal somewhat as well."

Severus caught Harry's uneasiness at once as the young man tugged on his collar slightly. "I see. Well then, good for you, Mister Potter. I wish you all the best."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said with a genuine smile.

"So," Aurora began, "have either of you given much thought to what you'll do now? After Hogwarts, I mean?"

Harry nodded politely, glancing at Luna and sharing a faint smile with her. "We have."

Severus sighed inwardly when he saw the look on Harry's face right then. "The Aurors will be honored to hear of your decision, Mister Potter," he stated quietly, trying his best to keep the disappointment out of his voice. The young man could have been so much more than an Auror.

Giving a soft laugh, Harry shook his head, though. "I don't know about that, sir. Not many people feel honored to be turned down a second time."

"You're not going to be an Auror then?" Aurora asked confused.

"No actually." Harry shrugged somewhat. "Luna helped me realize that I can do whatever I want now. That I don't have to be my father's replacement anymore, you know? So, I'm going to take some time and figure out who I want to be. And at this point, I know that I don't want to be an Auror."

If Severus were a different man, he'd have jumped for joy right then. The boy finally understood that he didn't have to be anyone other than Harry for once now. As it was, though, he merely inclined his head respectfully towards the young man.

"So, about these magical plants of yers," Tobias asked Luna suddenly.

Luna brightened up instantly. "Cazera extracts. They're very handy for many ailments." She then turned towards Severus. "Perhaps Professor Sinistra could give some to you to take, sir," Luna suggested. "I have quite enough to share, if you'd like to try it?"

To try some extract he never heard of? Severus smiled politely and shook his head. "No thank you, Miss Lovegood. I'm quite all right."

"It's quite invigorating actually, sir." Luna then dug into her purse before she pulled out two crimson leaves and handed it to Aurora. "The directions are rather simple. You have to be the one to administer it into his tea, Professor. The leaves will dissolve naturally, so it's as if it was never there in the first place. Except the bluish hue, but that only lasts for a moment or two."

Severus caught Aurora's hesitant smile before she grabbed the leaves and nodded. "Thank you, Luna. I'll see if I can get him talked into it later."

The dishwater blond's smile grew even more. "Excellent. I think you'll quite enjoy the results. I know Harry and I have."

And just like that Harry gave a forced laugh before he gently pulled Luna away from them and walked to the other side of the area.

"Was she insinuating . . .?" Aurora started to ask before Tobias cut in.

"That she was, lovely. That she was," Tobias said with an appreciative whistle. "If you two ain't gonna use them, though, El and I might."

Grimacing, Severus frowned. That was something he did not ever need to hear in his life. Though, what else was new? His parents always overshared such things.

"Uh-oh. Blonde at yer two o'clock, son," Tobias suddenly warned.

Oh, Merlin, what did Luna forget now? Severus turned that way, only to realize that it wasn't Luna approaching.

"Headmaster Snape," Draco politely said before he inclined his head to Aurora, "Professor Sinistra." He then tugged at his sleeves, clearly uncomfortable as he wore a black button-down shirt with black slacks.

"Hello, Professors," Hermione quietly said beside him. She looked absolutely stunning in her knee-high black dress.

Severus inclined his head towards them.

"I suppose you heard the news, then, sir?" Draco asked. "About the deal I've been offered from the Aurors?" he added a moment later.

Biting back a sigh, Severus shook his head. "I had not heard anything of the sort, I'm afraid."

Draco gave him a faint smile, though. "It's all right, sir. I understand. I can only imagine what it must be like to run a school while juggling a family at this point." He then shook his head as well. "In short, the Aurors offered me six months house arrest with five years of probation for my activities while being a Death Eater."

"You've accepted then?" Severus knew the answer. It was written all over the young man's face, the regret and trepidation.

"I have." Draco then glanced at Hermione and gave her a familiar smile. "It's the right thing to do, as it's a way to wipe the slate clean and start again."

Six months house arrest with five years of probation for foolishly joining the Dark Lord and getting himself in too deep, as so many others before him had done so? Six months he would lose, but, it seemed, as if Granger was willing to stand beside him. And Severus knew that having someone willing to stand with you made all the difference in the world.

"I made a mistake. You tried to point that out to me, but I wouldn't listen," Draco said, clearly unhappy with himself. "I'm ready to face the punishment for my crimes." His somber eyes trailed over to a few of the families who were searching the obelisk for their loved ones' names etched into the white marble. "It's the least I can do now."

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he saw the approaching redhead. He knew the moment Granger's shoulders hunched up defensively, that she too knew Ronald Weasley was approaching them. He thought about stepping aside with Aurora to give Draco and Hermione privacy when they spoke with Weasley, but the memory of Weasley striking Granger kept playing in his head.

"Uh, hey," Ron said weakly, glancing down rather ashamed of himself. "I, I won't make this long. Promise. It's just, I, well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He then raised his head. His eyes held a pained look in them now. "I'm sorry, Hermione. You got to believe me. I, I didn't mean to hurt you like that. Any of it. I—no, I won't even waste my breath and try to explain it, because what I did to you was inexcusable. I'm sorry, Hermione. Really. I am." He then turned to Draco. "I realize you probably want to kill me still, and that's fair. I just, um, I wanted to thank you for being there for her."

It was strange to witness. Weasley apologizing to Granger and then offering his gratitude to Malfoy? Severus wondered if he had already drank the Cazera leaves.

"She deserves the best, someone who makes her happy, and, hell, that seems to be you, Malfoy. It was always you if we're being honest. So, um, I won't bother you two anymore. I just wanted to tell you that." He then nodded, turning around to head back towards his parents.

"Hey, Weasley," Draco yelled out, causing the young man to stop. He then sighed before he held his hand out. When Ron took it a moment later and they shook hands, Draco nodded silently at him before he turned away and led Hermione to their seats.

Severus's eyes followed Weasley as he walked back to his parents a moment later before they took their seats as well. While it seemed odd to witness, he knew that it was a necessary step towards their continued healing. Acceptance and moving on. He turned back to the memorial. Those were the reasons they were all gathered there today.

Once Aurora was seated and Severus had noticed the rest of the crowd had done the same, he walked up to the small podium. He drew in a deep breath and spoke, calling forth the first speaker.

* * *

As Harry made his way to the podium several speakers later, Severus noted that the young man seemed as uneasy about public speaking as he himself was. They nodded to one another in silent understanding before Severus sat beside his wife again and Harry began.

"Someone who is wise beyond her years once told me after I lost my godfather that the things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end." He paused for a moment. "Just not always in the way we expect." He smiled. "At the time, I admit I didn't get her meaning. I thought it was just nonsense, as I'm sure some of you are thinking right now." Harry smile thinned. "I understand what she meant now, though, after this year." He glanced at the memorial. "That as long as we remember them in our hearts, they'll never be gone fully because they become a part of us." He let out a somber sigh.

Severus felt Aurora gently slip her hand into his as Harry took a moment to think through his thoughts. Having read Harry's speech beforehand, he knew that the young man had a few more paragraphs to go yet.

"But that doesn't mean we should live our lives trying to replace them, though, of lessening others' pains by sacrificing ourselves instead. That's another thing I learned this year," Harry said as he glanced down at his hands before he forced himself to look out at the crowd. "You see, all this time, I've heard how similar I am to my parents. How I have my mother's eyes."

The familiar ache at hearing someone refer to Lily returned, softer than usual, for Severus.

"My father's tendencies to break the rules." A few people joined Harry in a quiet laugh. "I don't know how it came to be, but at some point I felt like I had to be more like them just to help ease the pain of their deaths. Let's be honest for a moment. If you look at my life compared to my parents', there are so many striking similarities between us. Which I thought was a good thing at the time. But it's not. You lose yourself. Trust me." He sighed, glancing down at the podium.

The honesty in Harry's voice was so overwhelming. One couldn't deny that he was speaking the truth about his actions over the years. Severus drew in a shallow breath as he waited for Harry to continue, wishing he could have had the chance to right all the wrongs in the boy's past, in _their_ pasts.

"I want you to know that I will never forget their sacrifices, _your_ sacrifices, for me." The pained green eyes looked out at the crowd somberly, full of regret. "All last year, in fact, when we were following Professor Dumbledore's plan, I would latch onto any information about this place I could get. About all of you and what you were facing here. There was a point—Hermione can attest to this—where I thought about just casting it all aside and joining all of you in overthrowing Professor Snape and his terrible regime."

Severus thanked Merlin that hadn't been the case. He was unsure of how he would have protected Harry then. He supposed if push came to shove, he'd have cast aside his mask then and revealed himself to all. Though, it likely would have meant certain death for him then.

"That's another thing I learned this year," Harry continued. "That everything I thought I knew was wrong. Severus Snape is a hero, something of which I will continue to say until everyone knows it. Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, was the greatest chess master of people's lives ever." Harry gave a scornful huff. The disdain and sourness quickly swept over the young man's face.

While he shared Harry's sentiments, Severus also had the experience to know that Albus had not truly wanted to hurt people as he had. Deep down, the old man did care about them. Or perhaps that was just the line Severus was telling himself these days.

"Anyway, getting back on track here, last year taught all of us that everything can change in an instant. That nothing in life is for certain. That we all need to cherish every single waking moment with one another, because in a blink of an eye they could be gone." He drew in a shaky breath, his eyes slowly trailing over to the obelisk. "I will not let their deaths be in vain. Nor will I remain lost in our shared painful past anymore, letting our future slip away. Will you?" Without another word, Harry turned and briefly rested a hand against the cool marble of the obelisk before he swept back into the crowd, taking his seat next to Luna again.

Severus rose a moment later, joining the crowd in clapping as he approached the podium. His eyes swept over the parchment that listed the speakers in order, finding the next name before he announced it to the crowd.

* * *

When Severus announced his wife's name two speakers later, Aurora silently rose and walked to the small podium that he had been standing at previously. Glancing out at all the staff and students who were sitting in the audience, she felt her heart lurch into her throat, causing her to glance down at her prepared speech. Regardless of whatever Severus had said to her earlier, the words seemed empty, hollow, now that the moment was finally there. She closed her eyes. They all needed to hear their story, the one they created together this year that was forged from blood and tears. He was correct in that. So, with that in mind, she listened to the words in her heart and spoke them for everyone to hear.

"One year ago today," she loudly announced, "we found ourselves standing shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to defend our home from evil. And so we did. Together." She drew in a slow breath, seeing the pain in some of her students' eyes. "However, we know these acts of tremendous courage didn't come without a cost. All of us lost family, friends, or acquaintances. That left our hearts collectively broken.

"We soon found ourselves wondering why this tragedy had happened to us. What we had done to deserve this ache in our hearts now. For some of us, we've discovered those answers this past year. For those of you who haven't, the answer is quite simply this; we didn't do _anything_ to deserve that pain. Nor did our loved ones or friends. We're survivors who were caught up in a madman's quest for power."

She pressed her lips tightly together for a moment, breathing in deeply to steady her voice. Several nods of agreement rippled through the audience. While she knew her answer was overly simplified and that there was so much more than that, it worked for now.

"Throughout this past year, we've relied on one another, leaned on each other when we needed reassurance that everything would be all right. This has brought us new friends, new people into families who weren't there before. We of course will always remember those we lost, never forgetting their sacrifices for us, as Harry and so many others today have said. However, slowly our hearts have mended thanks to these new friends and loved ones in our lives. So the ache deep in our hearts has lessened with time. The sadness we've felt slowly has been replaced. After a while, we found ourselves laughing again, something we thought would never happen again. And then it hit us. We would be all right now. Not quite healed, of course, but not so broken anymore either. We were moving on."

She glanced at the tall marble obelisk beside her. Her eyes trailed over the carved in names, recalling each of the faces of the dead. Drawing in another slow breath, she continued a moment later.

"We will never forget any of our loved ones listed on this monument. We will carry them with us until the end of our days. Sometimes, it'll hurt to remember, especially at first. But when it does hurt, think of all the wonderful memories we've had with them. Recall the day where Mister Colin Creevey flashed you with his camera, giving you the photo later of you with your friends. Remember the day where Mister Percy Weasley went on about the merits of a good cauldron thickness. Imagine the time you had your first butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks with Madam Rosmerta. But above all, know this, loves. They are all smiling down on us, making sure we're all right from time to time. So, as long as we remember the sacrifices they gave for us, we'll never be alone again."

Half of the audience nodded with her. The other half wiped tears from their eyes or glanced away with a pained look. She re-wet her lips before she continued.

"We've moved on. It's taken us a very long time to do so as a school and as a family to get where we are now. Our hearts were broken so deeply that it rattled us to the core, made us question ourselves at times. However, if there is one thing I've noticed with this experience, it is the resiliency of our united spirits. Where others might have turned on each other, we turned _to_ each other in our hours of need and healed one another the best way we could, regardless of what house we were from.

"Like a phoenix crying on our broken hearts, we eventually healed one another in some way or another. And as such, loves, from the horrors we witnessed and suffered greatly from last year, we were reborn and made stronger than before. Hogwarts has become once again the beautiful castle shining for all to see, the castle we grew up with." She then held her hand out towards the white marble obelisk, motioning to it. "This monument doesn't just memorialize all that we've lost, but it also stands here as a testament to our strength and resolve, and ultimately _our_ rise from the ashes." She then inclined her head towards the clapping crowd before she turned towards Severus, who approached and gave her a gentle kiss to her cheek before he continued to the podium to call the next speaker.

* * *

Once the last scheduled speaker finished, Severus moved to stand but paused when he noticed Aurora wouldn't release his hand. With a frown, he turned back to her and gave her a puzzled look. Was something wrong? Was he forgetting something? His eyes then darted into the crowd, finding his son tugging on Tobias's hair without a care in the world. Luke seemed happy. What was it then?

Severus turned back to his wife and noticed her motion with her eyes towards the group of gathered Hogwarts ghosts, who floated in the back looking on expectantly. She gave his hand a final squeeze and smiled tenderly at him, as if to tell him that she was right there with him, that she believed in him as she had from the start. Only then did she release his hand.

He walked up to the podium a moment later. What was everyone hoping from him exactly? A rousing speech like Harry's? A kumbaya moment? There was a fat chance of that happening. His eyes then glanced down at the podium to the papers that suddenly appeared before him. The familiar messy scrawl stared back up at him. His speech. He had thought for certain he had tossed that rubbish away last night when it was clear Aurora's speech was loads better than his. He then caught the elegant cursive of his wife's handwriting in the right hand corner of his speech.

_Rise, love._

His fingers brushed against her note before he drew in a breath of courage. His eyes swept over the waiting crowd then before they finally came to rest on the ghosts who looked on respectfully. He then understood what it was they were waiting for.

"When I first saw Hogwarts when I crossed the lake many years ago as a first year, I felt as if I was finally home. I thought my life would be much different, happier than it was, but life isn't always fair. Darkness descended upon us. Twice in my lifetime. Some of that darkness, I admit, I brought to our doorstep. For that, I apologize sincerely."

Severus then sighed softly, recognizing that he was rambling. He glanced down at his speech before he continued.

"As so many others have done since, I embraced the darkness instead of seeing what everyone else saw around me. I joined the Death Eaters, believing their lies. I've paid the price for it, though. I've lost more classmates than I care to admit over the years. Some were murdered by Death Eaters. Others were killed by Aurors." Lily and James came to mind before their images altered into another one of his classmates. "These terrible losses tend to leave deep scars. So, if one doesn't deal with the pain properly, they become bitter and spiteful, cursing the world for their pain. I'm certain by now all of you have heard Mister Potter's reasoning of why I am the way I am, so I'll spare you of repeating his claims."

His eyes moved back to his son. Would Luke experience the same horrors his generation and the next had? He hoped to Merlin it wouldn't be.

"One person," he called out. "That is all it takes to save a life. One person to stand up for another who is too weak to fight on his or her own. One person to sacrifice him or herself and give another the chance to live. One person to say that enough was enough." He frowned quietly, his eyes looking out onto the crowd and finding the small Charms professor. "You did that last year. All of you. Every last one of you stood side-by-side and said enough was enough. You disregarded the old Hogwarts' prejudices," he paused before he quickly added, "for the most part, and you saw yourselves as being in it all together. You relied on one another. So where it began with one person standing up and stating that enough was enough, it quickly grew into a school full of people and created a strength in numbers that has likely never been seen here before at this school. A strength composed of all four Houses."

He caught a few of the older members of the crowd look back suspiciously at him and sighed.

"I know some of you do not believe my words. That some of you continue to believe that my own house abandoned yours in your times of need." His frown deepened. "While, I admit, their numbers were quite smaller compared to your own, Slytherin stood by your side last year. Professor Slughorn was instrumental, I am told, in disarming numerous Death Eaters. Theodore Nott publicly cast aside his father's beliefs, returning to Hogwarts after being banished with the others, and stepped in front of a curse meant for Hannah Abbot. Blaise Zabini, another who returned to join you, dueled beside all of you, pulling a young Hufflepuff to safety when the battlements started to give. Draco Malfoy even stood with all of you at the end, remorseful of his actions. Do you truly wish to ignore their contributions because most in my house were too afraid to stand up, whereas yours weren't?"

Severus caught several heads bow down out of shame.

"We lost so many loved one's here last year. And yet, we know through their sacrifices now that we live to stand here at this very place at this very hour to dedicate this obelisk to their memory, so that future generations know of our loved one's bravery, of our pain, and of our collective resolve to ensure that it never happens again in our lifetime. That no more must die for a mad man's quest for power."

Severus drew in a deep breath. "When my son is older, I will be proud to tell him of the time when all four Houses stood united against a common foe. When all four Houses let go of the hurtful past and embraced the new dawn at Hogwarts. When all four Houses said enough was enough."

He then turned back towards the memorial and drew his wand.

"May this eternal light shine brightly for all to see," he said, waving his wand in an intricate pattern. "May it protect us from the darkness and pain we witnessed last year. And may it serve as a reminder to all future generations that we stood united against the forces of evil and prevailed, stronger than ever before." A loud whoosh erupted from the tip of his wand before a blue jet of light streaked across to the memorial. A large green fireball then emerged at the top of the obelisk. As the seconds past, the fireball slowly changed colors. First, green. Then, red. Next, blue. Finally, yellow. It altered between the four House colors majestically in a seemingly hypnotic way. "Together, we rise." His eyes found his son soon after. "To our hopeful future."


End file.
